Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur | Start and Grow Your Own Business

In this special Collab Week episode of Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur, nine founders answer one creative and surprisingly powerful question:

What is a concept from another discipline, hobby, or part of life that changed how you think as a founder?

You’ll hear from Shawn Sundsvold, Jaimz Hodge, Jane Alexander, Drew Dorenfest, Erik Berglund, Lisa Larson, Nate Hebbert, Stephen Custer, and Nicholas Cook as they pull lessons from recovery, fiction writing, gardening, baseball, fitness, running, software engineering, sketch comedy, poetry, and more.

The result is a wide-ranging episode about patience, systems, storytelling, recovery, consistency, craft, perspective, and the small lessons that quietly reshape how we build.

For any wantrepreneur or entrepreneur who feels like business wisdom only comes from business books, this episode is a reminder that some of the best founder lessons are hiding in plain sight — in the hobbies you love, the disciplines you practice, the challenges you survive, and the patterns you notice when you slow down enough to pay attention.

✨ What You’ll Take Away

In this episode, you’ll learn how to:

• Use life’s highs and lows as perspective instead of letting them define you.
• Move beyond passion by intentionally studying your craft.
• Build a startup with the patience and care of a gardener.
• Stop swinging for home runs and focus on getting on base consistently.
• Treat your business like something that needs regular self-care.
• Build recovery into your operating rhythm instead of glorifying exhaustion.
• Apply systems thinking from software engineering to business problems.
• Use storytelling to build trust in sales, marketing, and leadership.
• See creative hobbies as training grounds for better communication and business growth.

🎙️ Meet the Collab Week Contributors

Shawn Sundsvold — GoldBear Media
Shawn Sundsvold is the co-founder and COO of GoldBear Media, a marketing agency based in Westminster, Maryland. After years of solving business problems across sales, operations, management, and marketing roles, Shawn joined his wife Kelly full-time in GoldBear Media to help small and medium-sized businesses improve their marketing, branding, online presence, social media, email marketing, and growth.

Connect with Shawn:
Website: https://goldbear.media/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goldbear.media/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GoldBearMedia

Jaimz Hodge — Cart Catalyst
Jaimz Hodge helps ecommerce brands convert more customers by eliminating the invisible friction in their buying experience, from ad click to checkout. Through Cart Catalyst, he helps entrepreneurs get their products and ideas online, selling through Shopify and advertising through Google Ads.

Connect with Jaimz:
Website: https://www.cartcatalyst.com

Jane Alexander — Emma Advisor
Jane Alexander is the founder and CEO of Emma Advisor, an AI platform helping families navigate the path from high school to college with more clarity, strategy, and confidence. After an unconventional educational path and more than a decade advising leaders at over 200 colleges and universities, Jane built Emma Advisor from the belief that opportunity should not depend on insider knowledge, social capital, or expensive consultants.

Drew Dorenfest — Client Magnet CRM
Drew Dorenfest is a marketing expert who has worked with global brands including Netflix, Apple, Warner Bros., the NFL, and more as a video editor. Today, through Client Magnet CRM, he helps small business owners grow their brands through more clients, more 5-star reviews, stronger SEO, and more sales.

Connect with Drew:
Website: https://clientmagnetcrm.com

Erik Berglund — The Language of Leadership / Loominary
Erik Berglund is the founder of The Language of Leadership and Loominary, where he builds custom skill simulation systems that help teams practice the difficult conversations that drive performance.

Connect with Erik:
Website: https://www.languageofleadership.io
Website: https://www.loominary.io
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emberglund/

Lisa Larson — Mindful Corporate Mastery
Lisa Larson is the founder of Mindful Corporate Mastery, where she helps leaders and high performers build clarity under pressure before reactivity takes control. Her work focuses on performance-focused mindfulness, micro-interventions, and sustainable operating rhythms that support clearer thinking, better decisions, and long-term performance.

Connect with Lisa:
Website: https://www.mindfulcorporatemastery.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-larson-atx/
Free Program: https://awakeningperformance.com/5-day-clarity-challenge/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6EqbbvCrXoBgtEt21ZItVX?si=fMY2efj0S7KTfwCikdibHg

Nate Hebbert — SelfWare Consulting
Nate Hebbert is an entrepreneur and software engineer who previously worked for 3M, KPMG, and Domo, where he developed custom Java code for Fortune 500 clients. After burnout threatened to derail his career, Nate became obsessed with helping tech companies beat burnout without pressing pause. Today, he is the founder and CEO of SelfWare Consulting.

Connect with Nate:
Website: https://selfwareconsulting.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/beat-burnout
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SelfWareConsulting

Stephen Custer — Dry Humor Marketing
Stephen Custer started Dry Humor Marketing because he believes marketing is seriously fun. He helps clients combine strategy, data, video, photography, websites, and authentic storytelling so they can inspire people to act instead of simply throwing ideas against the wall to see what sticks.

Connect with Stephen:
Website: https://www.dryhumormarketing.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-custer/

Nicholas Cook — Money 101 Academy
Nicholas Cook is a blogger, teacher, real estate investor, and founder of Money 101 Academy. His background includes work as a financial advisor and paraplanner, teaching personal finance, English, literature, theology, investing, and algebra, and building online projects across writing, web design, YouTube, ecommerce, affiliate marketing, and email marketing.

Connect with Nicholas:
Website: https://money101academy.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholas-cook77/
Life, Business, and Creativity Blog: https://nickcook.blog

🚀 Action Steps For Wantrepreneurs and Entrepreneurs

• Identify one hobby, discipline, or life experience that has already taught you something useful about business.
• Pick one area of your business where you have relied on talent or instinct, then study someone who has mastered that craft.
• Replace one “home run” goal with a smaller, repeatable action you can take consistently.
• Block time on your calendar for business self-care: systems, team support, metrics, strategy, or reflection.
• Build recovery into your week before your body or brain forces you to.
• Look at one recurring business problem and break it down like a system: inputs, steps, decisions, outputs.
• Turn one fact-heavy pitch, email, or piece of content into a story with a hook, journey, and takeaway.
• Revisit a creative hobby and ask how it might sharpen your communication, leadership, or founder instincts.

In this special Collab Week episode of Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur, four founders answer one powerful question:

What is an opportunity you almost ignored — but now realize changed everything?

You’ll hear from Jane Alexander of Emma Advisor, Shawn Sundsvold of GoldBear Media, Mike Gross of Michael J. Gross LLC and Management System Certification Training Solutions, and Nate Hebbert of SelfWare Consulting as they each share a moment they could have easily dismissed.

A bootcamp that felt intimidating.
A cold email that could have been deleted.
A coaching opportunity that seemed inconvenient.
A local resource that could have been overlooked.

Each story reveals the same lesson: some of the biggest entrepreneurial breakthroughs do not arrive looking obvious, polished, or perfectly timed. Sometimes they show up as discomfort, doubt, outreach, community, or an opportunity you do not yet feel ready for.

For any wantrepreneur or entrepreneur wondering whether to take the call, join the room, ask for help, invest in themselves, or say yes to the thing that scares them, this episode is a reminder to look twice. The opportunity that changes everything might already be sitting right in front of you.

✨ What You’ll Take Away

In this episode, you’ll learn how to:

• Recognize opportunities even when they do not look like opportunities at first.
• Bet on yourself when you feel underqualified, intimidated, or unsure.
• Use new tools, AI, and accessible technology to move faster without waiting for permission.
• Reframe cold outreach, local events, and free resources as potential doors instead of distractions.
• Invest in personal growth before you feel “ready” to become the next version of yourself.
• Build a stronger entrepreneurial support system so you do not have to figure everything out alone.

🎙️ Meet the Collab Week Contributors

Jane Alexander — Emma Advisor
Jane Alexander is the founder and CEO of Emma Advisor, an AI platform helping families navigate the path from high school to college with more clarity, strategy, and confidence. Her own path included homeschooling in rural Idaho, community college, transferring to a private university, graduate work at Harvard University, and more than a decade advising leaders at over 200 colleges and universities on enrollment, student success, and strategy. Emma Advisor grew from her belief that access to college strategy should not depend on money, insider knowledge, or social capital.

Connect with Jane:
Website: https://emmaadvisor.ai/

Shawn Sundsvold — GoldBear Media
Shawn Sundsvold is the co-founder and COO of GoldBear Media, a marketing agency based in Westminster, Maryland. After years of solving problems across business development, sales, marketing, operations, and management, Shawn joined his wife Kelly in building GoldBear Media full time. Today, they help small and medium-sized businesses improve their marketing, branding, online presence, social media, email marketing, and growth.

Connect with Shawn:
Website: https://goldbear.media/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goldbear.media/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GoldBearMedia

Mike Gross — Michael J. Gross LLC / Management System Certification Training Solutions
Mike Gross is a trainer, training provider, consultant, and auditor who helps organizations make sense of ISO standards and apply them in practical ways. With more than 35 years of experience, including growth into executive leadership roles, Mike focuses on helping organizations build understanding through training first, then refine and improve their systems. As a committed solopreneur, his approach is practical, straightforward, and centered on leaving people more capable than when he started.

Connect with Mike:
Website: https://mj-gross.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mj-gross/
Company LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/michael-j-gross-llc/
LinkedIn Showcase: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/mscertts/

Nate Hebbert — SelfWare Consulting
Nate Hebbert is an entrepreneur and software engineer who previously worked for 3M, KPMG, and Domo, where he developed custom Java code for Fortune 500 clients. After burnout threatened to derail his career, Nate became obsessed with solving one problem: how to escape the cycle of burnout. Today, he is the founder and CEO of SelfWare Consulting, helping tech companies beat burnout without pressing pause.

Connect with Nate:
Website: https://selfwareconsulting.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/beat-burnout
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SelfWareConsulting

💡 The Opportunities They Almost Missed

Jane Alexander: The intimidating room that changed the trajectory of the company
Jane’s opportunity came through a bootcamp that felt outside her comfort zone. As a non-technical founder building an AI platform, it would have been easy to assume she did not belong in a room full of technical builders and Silicon Valley expertise. Instead, she said yes. That decision helped her learn new tools, build with more confidence, save significant money, and rethink what she was capable of creating herself.

Key reminder: Do not let your current skill set define the limits of your vision.

Mike Gross: The cold email that became a hidden door
Mike’s opportunity arrived in the form many entrepreneurs are trained to ignore: cold outreach. But instead of immediately dismissing it, he paid attention to the way the opportunity showed up — professional, persistent, respectful, and not overly demanding. A simple exploratory conversation opened the door to a global business opportunity that expanded what he thought was possible.

Key reminder: You do not have to say yes to every opportunity, but you should learn how to recognize signal through the noise.

Shawn Sundsvold: The coaching opportunity that expanded his vision
For Shawn, the opportunity was not a tool, lead, or sales call. It was personal development. At a time when he was still trying to figure out what business ownership could look like, coaching helped him see a different future for himself. It challenged how he thought about life, work, possibility, and what he was capable of building.

Key reminder: Sometimes the opportunity is not about the business yet — it is about becoming the person who can build it.

Nate Hebbert: The local resource that became a community
Nate’s story is a reminder that entrepreneurship does not have to be as lonely as it often feels. By exploring local business resources, libraries, councils, and community networks, he found support, connection, and momentum. One small step into a local ecosystem created a ripple effect of relationships and opportunities.

Key reminder: The support you need may already exist closer than you think.

🚀 Action Steps For Wantrepreneurs and Entrepreneurs

• Look back at one opportunity you recently dismissed and ask whether it deserves a second look.
• Say yes to one room, event, call, or learning opportunity that feels slightly intimidating but potentially expansive.
• Take one low-risk exploratory call before deciding whether an unfamiliar opportunity is worth pursuing.
• Search for local business resources in your city, region, library system, chamber, or industry community.
• Invest in one personal development opportunity that challenges how you currently see your future.
• Identify one AI, no-code, or automation tool that could help you build something you previously assumed you had to outsource.

In this special Collab Week episode of Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur, five founders answer one deceptively powerful prompt:

What is the single most important question you ask yourself to stay focused, make better decisions, and keep building?

You’ll hear from Brent Newton of myOwl, Mary Gunther of The Social G Co., Nate Hebbert of SelfWare Consulting, Stephen Custer of Dry Humor Marketing, and Shawn Sundsvold of GoldBear Media as they each reveal the internal question that helps guide their work, energy, leadership, and growth.

From asking whether something is truly CEO-level work, to buying back time, to protecting your energy, to shifting from “why?” to “why not?”, this episode is a masterclass in the questions that shape better entrepreneurs.

For any wantrepreneur or entrepreneur feeling stretched, distracted, overwhelmed, or unsure where to focus next, this episode will help you rethink the conversations you’re having with yourself — because the quality of your questions often determines the quality of your next move.

✨ What You’ll Take Away

In this episode, you’ll learn how to use better questions to:

• Filter your to-do list down to the work that actually moves the business forward.
• Identify what can be delegated, automated, or eliminated so you can buy back your time.
• Reframe doubt and hesitation into possibility and action.
• Protect your energy as a real business asset, not a luxury.
• Clarify your highest priority by factoring in urgency, growth, and personal capacity.
• Recognize and nurture the entrepreneurial spirit in yourself and others.

🎙️ Meet the Collab Week Contributors

Brent Newton — myOwl
Brent is the co-founder and CEO of myOwl, an AI-powered platform helping student athletes and their families take back control of their time. Built around the “Play Hard, Study Smart System™,” myOwl combines homework aggregation, sports schedule syncing, and AI-generated study plans into one unified calendar. Brent built the company alongside his daughter after living the student-athlete time crunch firsthand.

Connect with Brent:
Website: https://www.getmyowl.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brent-newton-myowl

Mary Gunther — The Social G Co.
Mary Gunther is the founder of The Social G Co., a Grand Rapids-based social media agency helping brands build strategic, authentic, impossible-to-ignore social presences. With a background in organizational development, HR, operations, community-building, and brand strategy, Mary brings a sharp mix of creativity and business growth to the companies she serves.

Connect with Mary:
Website: https://www.thesocialgco.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesocialgco/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marykgunther/

Nate Hebbert — SelfWare Consulting
Nate Hebbert is an entrepreneur and software engineer who previously worked for 3M, KPMG, and Domo, where he developed custom Java code for Fortune 500 clients. After burnout threatened to derail his career, Nate became obsessed with helping tech companies beat burnout without pressing pause. Today, he is the founder and CEO of SelfWare Consulting.

Connect with Nate:
Website: https://selfwareconsulting.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/beat-burnout
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SelfWareConsulting

Stephen Custer — Dry Humor Marketing
Stephen started Dry Humor Marketing because he believes marketing is seriously fun. He helps clients combine strategy, data, and authentic storytelling so they can inspire people to act instead of simply throwing ideas against the wall to see what sticks.

Connect with Stephen:
Website: https://www.dryhumormarketing.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-custer/

Shawn Sundsvold — GoldBear Media
Shawn Sundsvold is the co-founder and COO of GoldBear Media, a marketing agency based in Westminster, Maryland. After years of solving business problems across sales, operations, management, and marketing roles, Shawn joined his wife Kelly full-time in GoldBear Media to help small and medium-sized businesses improve their marketing, branding, online presence, social media, email marketing, and growth.

Connect with Shawn:
Website: https://goldbear.media/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goldbear.media/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GoldBearMedia

💡 The Questions That Shape Better Founders

Mary Gunther: “Is this CEO-level work?”
Mary’s question is a direct challenge to every entrepreneur who confuses motion with momentum. Not every task deserves the founder’s time, energy, or attention. If the business is going to grow, the leader has to grow too — and that means protecting the calendar, saying no more often, and focusing on the work only the CEO can do.

Key reminder: Busy is not the same as building.

Shawn Sundsvold: “Where can I buy back my time?”
Shawn’s question reframes time as something entrepreneurs can intentionally reclaim. Instead of assuming every task belongs on your plate, ask what can be delegated, automated, systemized, or handed off. The time you buy back becomes the space you use to lead your team, grow the business, and be present in the rest of your life.

Key reminder: You do not have to do everything yourself.

Brent Newton: “Why did it take me so long?”
Brent’s reflection is both personal and generational. As a first-time founder building myOwl alongside his daughter, he reminds us that entrepreneurship can start at any age — but when we see that spark in someone younger, we should nurture it. Sometimes the most important question is not just how we build, but how we help others believe they can build too.

Key reminder: It is never too late to start, and never too early to encourage someone else.

Stephen Custer: “Why not?”
Stephen’s question is simple, but powerful. Many founders default to asking “why?” from a place of fear, scarcity, or pessimism. But adding one small word — “not” — changes the energy of the entire question. “Why not?” opens the door to possibility, experimentation, hiring, scaling, and trying the thing you might otherwise talk yourself out of.

Key reminder: Sometimes your next breakthrough starts with a better question.

Nate Hebbert: “What is my highest priority right now?”
Nate’s question goes deeper than urgency. Your highest priority is not always the loudest task, the nearest deadline, or the thing someone else wants from you. It also includes your growth, your energy, and your ability to do quality work. For entrepreneurs especially, protecting your physical, mental, and emotional capacity is not separate from business performance — it fuels it.

Key reminder: Your energy is part of your operating system.

In this first-ever Collab Week episode of Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur, four past guests come together to answer one powerful question:

What’s a tiny decision you made that changed everything?

You’ll hear from Stephen Custer of Dry Humor Marketing, Nate Hebbert of SelfWare Consulting, Drew Dorenfest of Client Magnet CRM, and Janice Kephart of ZipID as they each share a seemingly small moment that created a major ripple effect in their entrepreneurial journey.

From writing down a goal, to helping a friend for free, to saying yes to a terrifying opportunity, to using a job as a training ground for future business ownership, this episode is a reminder that transformation rarely starts with a grand master plan. More often, it starts with one small, decisive action.

For any wantrepreneur or entrepreneur feeling stuck, this episode offers real-world proof that the next move doesn’t have to be massive. It just has to be intentional.

✨ What You’ll Take Away

In this episode, you’ll hear how small decisions can become major turning points, including:

• Why writing down your goals can help shape your identity and future direction.
• How one free project can become the proof of concept that launches a business.
• Why scary opportunities often become the moments that create credibility and confidence.
• How your current job can become a paid training ground for your future company.
• Why you don’t need perfect clarity to begin — you just need one committed step.
• How tiny moments of courage, service, and curiosity can compound into major entrepreneurial momentum.

🎙️ Meet the Collab Week Contributors

Stephen Custer — Dry Humor Marketing
Stephen started Dry Humor Marketing because he believes marketing is seriously fun. He helps clients combine strategy, data, and authentic storytelling so they can inspire people to act instead of simply throwing ideas against the wall to see what sticks.

Connect with Stephen:
Website: https://www.dryhumormarketing.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-custer/

Nate Hebbert — SelfWare Consulting
Nate Hebbert is an entrepreneur and software engineer who previously worked for 3M, KPMG, and Domo, where he developed custom Java code for Fortune 500 clients. After experiencing burnout firsthand, he became obsessed with helping tech companies beat burnout without pressing pause. Today, he is the founder and CEO of SelfWare Consulting.

Connect with Nate:
Website: https://selfwareconsulting.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/beat-burnout
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SelfWareConsulting

Drew Dorenfest — Client Magnet CRM
Drew Dorenfest is a marketing expert who has worked with global brands including Netflix, Apple, Warner Bros., the NFL, and more as a video editor. Today, through Client Magnet CRM, he helps small business owners grow their brands through more clients, more 5-star reviews, and more sales.

Connect with Drew:
Website: https://clientmagnetcrm.com

Janice Kephart — ZipID
Janice Kephart is the founder of ZipID and brings decades of experience at the intersection of law, policy, national security, identity verification, and biometric technology. Her work has included drafting the federal identity theft criminal statute, serving with the 9/11 Commission, contributing to REAL ID and biometric border entry-exit systems, and now building technology to bring greater trust and integrity to identity verification.

Connect with Janice:
Website: https://www.zipidapp.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janicekephart/

💡 Key Lessons From This Episode

Define who you’re becoming.
Nate’s story shows the power of writing down your goals and allowing that act to shape your identity, attention, and future decisions.

Create proof before you chase perfection.
Drew’s story is a reminder that helping one person, even for free, can become the case study that gives you confidence and opens the door to paying clients.

Say yes before you feel ready.
Janice’s story reveals how one intimidating opportunity can become the moment that changes how you see yourself and how the world sees your expertise.

Use where you are to build where you’re going.
Stephen’s story shows how your current job, role, or environment can become the place where you develop the exact skills you’ll later use to build your own business.

🧠 Memorable Moments

• “Your environment and the experiences that you've had in the past do affect who you are right now, but the future in so many ways is for you to decide.” — Nate Hebbert
• “That small decision just to help a friend and try something changed everything for me.” — Drew Dorenfest
• “It gave me the confidence that I had something to offer in a way that I never had it before.” — Janice Kephart
• “I learned how to make videos that engaged people and educated them and most importantly caused them to act.” — Stephen Custer

🚀 Action Steps For Wantrepreneurs and Entrepreneurs

• Write down one goal you want to grow into and keep it somewhere you’ll see it often.
• Find one person or business you can help this week to create real-world proof of your skills.
• Say yes to one opportunity that scares you but could stretch your credibility.
• Look at your current job, project, or environment and ask: “What skill can I develop here that my future business will need?”
• Stop waiting for the huge breakthrough and identify the tiny decision you can make today.

In this very special Solo Sunday episode, Brian shares his biggest and most personal announcement ever. After a decade of sharing his entrepreneurial journey on the show, he’s opening up about a life-changing milestone that is already profoundly shifting his perspective on business, priorities, and success. He ties this beautiful moment back to the single most important element of any business strategy: making it about someone other than yourself. If your motivation ever fades or you find it easy to pause when life gets hectic, this episode reveals the ultimate key to creating unstoppable momentum and accountability in your business.

✨ Why This Matters for You

Building your strategy around others isn't just a feel-good idea; it's a powerful business advantage:

• It provides an unshakable purpose that fuels you through the toughest challenges.
• It transforms your business from a self-centered project into a meaningful mission.
• It creates built-in accountability, making it much harder to quit on your goals.
• It forces you to think about service and value first, which naturally leads to greater success.
• It gives you a reason to get creative and find solutions, even when you feel like pausing.

📝 Key Takeaways

• Your Strategy Needs a "Who." A powerful strategy isn’t just about your "why" — it’s about who you are doing it for. When you build your goals around serving and uplifting others, your motivation becomes infinite.
• A "Me-Focused" Strategy Is Fragile. When your business is only about you, it’s easy to quit, pause, or disappear when things get hard. There's no one else to answer to.
• People Create Accountability. Whether it’s your family, your team, your clients, or the people you hope to inspire, making them part of your strategy ensures you show up consistently.
• Service Is the Ultimate Motivator. Brian shares how his commitment to the podcast listeners is what drove him to find creative solutions to keep the show going during a hectic personal time, rather than stopping like he might have in the past.
• Success Becomes a Shared Reward. Growing a business becomes infinitely more fulfilling when you see it as a vehicle to support your team, delight your customers, and be an example for your community.

🚀 Put It Into Action

This week, take a moment to redefine your strategy around people:

• Who, besides yourself, are you building this business for? Write their names down or visualize them.
• Is it for your family? To make your parents proud? For the friend who never believed in themselves? For the community that looks up to you?
• The next time you feel like quitting or procrastinating, look at that list. Let your commitment to them be the fuel that drives your next action.

🔗 Stay Connected

• Subscribe to the show so you never miss an episode
• Connect with Brian on Instagram @imetbrian
• Share this episode with a fellow entrepreneur who needs a powerful reminder of who they're fighting for

We’re often told that to grow, we need to do more, add more, and say “yes” to every opportunity. But what if the real secret to strategic success is doing less? In this Solo Strategy episode, Brian flips the script on traditional business strategy, arguing that what you choose not to do is just as important as what you do. Drawing on powerful examples from icons like Steve Jobs at Apple and retail giant Costco, Brian reveals how simplification and subtraction are not signs of retreat, but the ultimate power moves for creating focus, clarity, and explosive growth. If you feel bogged down by complexity and spread too thin, this episode is your guide to getting back to what truly matters.

✨ Why This Matters for You

Embracing subtraction as a strategy can fundamentally change your business:

• It frees up your time, energy, and resources to double down on what’s actually working.
• It sharpens your focus, allowing you to become the undeniable expert in your niche instead of a jack-of-all-trades.
• It simplifies your operations, reducing overwhelm and eliminating the chaos that holds you back.
• It positions you to attract the right opportunities and clients by making it crystal clear what you do best.

📝 Key Takeaways

• Strategy is Subtraction. Deciding what not to do is as crucial as deciding what to do. Your "to-don't" list is as powerful as your to-do list.
• Complexity is the Enemy. Your ego might love complexity because it feels impressive, but simplicity is what scales. Complexity creates chaos and kills momentum.
• Focus Your Firepower. When Steve Jobs returned to Apple, he cut dozens of products to focus the company’s best talent on just a few. This intense focus is what created iconic products.
• Less is More. Costco carries only 4,000 products compared to a typical grocery store's 50,000. This simplifies their business and strengthens their purchasing power. What can you simplify to strengthen your position?
• Stop Doing What Doesn’t Matter. As Peter Drucker said, "There's nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all." Actively remove tasks, processes, and even clients that drain your resources without moving the needle.

🚀 Put It Into Action

This week, conduct a "subtraction audit" in your business:

• Where are you offering too many products or services? Identify one thing you could remove to create more clarity for your customers.
• Who is your "PITA" (Pain In The A**) client? What would it look like to strategically part ways and free up that energy for dream clients?
• What is one task or workflow you do every week that doesn't produce a tangible result? As Brian did with his social media, just stop doing it and see what new opportunities arise.

🔗 Stay Connected

• Subscribe to the show so you never miss an episode
• Connect with Brian on Instagram @imetbrian
• Share this episode with a fellow entrepreneur who is doing too much and needs to find their focus

Ever get excited about a new marketing tactic or business strategy, go all-in for a week, and then quit when you don’t see immediate results? You’re not alone. This is one of the biggest reasons entrepreneurs fail to gain traction. In this Solo Strategy episode, Brian argues that most strategies don't fail because they’re “bad”—they fail because we don’t commit to them long enough to see them work. He introduces one powerful question you must ask before adopting any new plan: "Am I willing to do this 1,000 times?" Using compelling stories from learning to ride a bike to a game-changing tennis lesson, Brian reveals why “brute force” and long-term consistency are the real secrets to success, and how to finally choose a strategy you’ll actually stick with.

✨ Why This Matters for You

This isn't just another talk on strategy; it's a filter for your focus and energy:

• It helps you escape the "shiny object syndrome" that keeps so many entrepreneurs stuck.
• It forces you to align your business activities with what you genuinely enjoy and can sustain, preventing burnout.
• It saves you countless hours and resources by helping you ditch strategies you were never going to see through.
• It shifts your mindset from seeking quick wins to building real, lasting momentum through dedicated repetition.

📝 Key Takeaways

• The 1,000-Rep Question. Before committing to any strategy—social media, content creation, sales outreach—ask yourself: "Am I willing to do this 1,000 times?" Your honest answer determines if it's the right strategy for you.
• Persistence is a Strategy. The secret to success isn't always finding the perfect plan, but simply staying in the game long enough for any good plan to work.
• Brute Force Works. Don't overcomplicate things. As Brian learned in a tennis clinic, sometimes the most effective approach is to relentlessly stick with what's working, even if it feels repetitive.
• Clarity Comes from Action. You learn to ride a bike by falling off, not by reading about it. Similarly, you master a strategy through execution and repetition, not endless planning.
• A "Good" Strategy You Quit is a Bad Strategy. The best plan in the world is useless if you don't have the willingness to execute it consistently over the long haul.

🚀 Put It Into Action

This week, conduct a "1,000-Rep Audit" on your business:

• Look at a major strategy you're currently implementing (e.g., your content marketing, your sales process, etc.).
• Ask yourself, with brutal honesty, "Am I willing to do this 1,000 more times? Do I have the stamina and interest to see this through?"
• If the answer is no, it's time to re-evaluate. It might be time to pivot to a strategy that you can commit to for the long run.

🔗 Stay Connected

• Subscribe to the show so you never miss an episode
• Connect with Brian on Instagram @imetbrian
• Share this episode with a fellow entrepreneur who needs a reminder that consistency beats complexity

📣 Special Thanks and Shout Out to a Brilliant Creator!

A huge thank you to Ian Westermann, founder of Essential Tennis, for the brilliant coaching and the "brute force" lesson that inspired a core theme in this episode. Ian's ability to simplify complex concepts in tennis translates directly to business and life. If you’re a tennis player, or just someone who appreciates masterful coaching, check out Essential Tennis on YouTube. And a special mention to Marc Zimmermann of Pr1me Fitness for his no-nonsense advice on commitment, which perfectly aligns with today's message

Is your calendar packed with execution, leaving no room for strategy? It’s easy to fall into the “busyness trap,” where you’re constantly working in your business but never on it. But as Brian explains in this Solo Strategy episode, true entrepreneurial growth comes from intentionally stepping out of the day-to-day to think like an executive. Today, he’s pulling back the curtain on his personal system for doing just that: The Four Rooms of Executive Time. This is the tangible framework you’ve been missing, designed to turn vague strategic ideas into concrete actions that move your business forward. Get ready to learn how to review, decide, design, and envision your way to the next level.

✨ Why This Matters for You 

Carving out executive time with this framework will change the game for you:

• It transforms the abstract advice to “work on your business” into a concrete, repeatable process.
• It provides the structure to escape the cycle of busyness and focus on high-leverage activities that actually drive growth.
• It forces you to make the tough decisions you’ve been avoiding, turning ambiguity into clear direction.
• It helps you shift from just doing the work to intentionally designing a business that can scale beyond you.
• It ensures you never lose sight of the big picture, keeping your daily actions aligned with your long-term vision.

📝 Key Takeaways

• The Review Room: Look backward to move forward. This is where you take inventory of what’s working, what’s breaking, and what the data is telling you. You turn past experiences into future insights.
• The Decision Room: Convert ambiguity into action. Use this dedicated space to make the critical calls about offers, clients, and priorities that you’ve been delaying.
• The Design Room: Build the engine of your business. Focus on creating and improving the systems, processes, and workflows that reduce chaos and make your success repeatable.
• The Vision Room: Zoom out and dream big. This is where you ask expansive questions about where you’re going, what it would take to 10x your business, and how you could make everything 10x simpler.

🚀 Put It Into Action 

This week, schedule your first “Executive Time” session using the Four Rooms framework:

• Block out at least 60 minutes in your calendar where you will not be disturbed.
• Spend 15 minutes in each of the four rooms: Review, Decision, Design, and Vision.
• For each room, write down at least one key question you need to answer or one insight you’ve uncovered.
• Bonus: Take Brian up on his offer and email him at [email protected] to share what you discovered during your session!

🔗 Stay Connected

• Subscribe to the show so you never miss an episode
• Connect with Brian on Instagram @imetbrian
• Drop Brian a line with your thoughts and takeaways at [email protected]
• Share this episode with a fellow entrepreneur who needs to stop being busy and start being strategic

Stuck in the endless loop of figuring out the "perfect" price for your product or service? You’re not alone. Pricing is one of the biggest challenges entrepreneurs face, but what if the entire way you think about it is wrong? In this Solo Strategy episode, Brian pulls back the curtain on a powerful strategic truth: you don’t actually choose your prices—the market does. He reveals how pricing is a two-way street where your prices dictate your clients, and your clients dictate your prices. Brian shares a candid story from his early agency days about how underpricing a project by thousands of dollars cost him the deal and taught him a lesson he’s never forgotten. This episode is a masterclass in strategic alignment that will change how you view your value, your customers, and your bottom line.

✨ Why This Matters for You 

Understanding this pricing dynamic is a game-changer for your business:

• It ends the guesswork and anxiety around setting your prices.
• It empowers you to intentionally attract the exact type of clients you want to work with.
• It ensures your entire business strategy—from marketing to branding—is congruent and effective.
• It reveals why being the cheapest option can actually hurt your business and repel high-value customers.
• It gives you the framework to confidently price your offers based on the market you choose to serve.

📝 Key Takeaways

• The Market Sets the Price. You can list any price you want, but ultimately, the market decides what it's willing to pay. Clarity comes from testing, not overthinking.
• Your Prices Dictate Your Clients. Charging a low price attracts clients who value low prices. Charging a premium price attracts clients who value premium results and are willing to pay for them.
• Your Clients Dictate Your Prices. The audience you choose to serve inherently determines your pricing potential. If you build a business to serve a low-budget market, you can’t expect to charge enterprise-level fees.
• The "Too Cheap to Win" Trap. As Brian’s story shows, pricing too low can signal a lack of experience or confidence, causing you to lose deals to higher-priced competitors, especially in B2B or enterprise markets.
• Congruency is King. Your pricing, branding, messaging, and ideal customer must all be in perfect alignment. A high-end price requires a high-end experience from start to finish.

🚀 Put It Into Action 

This week, conduct a quick "Strategic Congruency" audit on your business:

• Who is the ideal client you truly want to serve? Be specific about their budget, expectations, and values.
• Look at your current pricing. Does it attract or repel this ideal client? Is it positioned for the clients you have or the clients you want?
• Review your marketing, website, and branding. Does it look and feel like it belongs at your current price point? If you want to charge more, what needs to be elevated to match?

🔗 Stay Connected

• Subscribe to the show so you never miss an episode
• Connect with Brian on Instagram @imetbrian
• Share this episode with a fellow entrepreneur who is struggling with their pricing strategy

Summer Miller shares her incredible journey from growing up in a small, impoverished village in China to scaling and exiting a home care company with over 1,000 employees. She reveals how a simple parenting moment with her daughter, Piper, sparked the idea for her latest company, My Little Venture—a platform designed to teach kids entrepreneurship. This episode is a masterclass in the power of mindset, hard work, and delayed gratification. For any entrepreneur feeling stuck or afraid to start, Summer’s story is a powerful reminder that your background doesn't define your future, and your biggest business idea might be hiding in a simple, everyday problem.

💡 What You'll Take Away For YOUR Business

• 🚀 How an immigrant mindset can become your biggest competitive advantage in business.
• 💡 The simple parenting moment that sparked a scalable business idea solving a real-world family problem.
• 🌱 Why teaching kids entrepreneurship instills life-long skills like resilience, financial literacy, and delayed gratification.
• 📈 The real story behind scaling a company to 1,000 employees (hint: it’s not just about tactics).
• 💰 How to find and leverage non-traditional resources like grants and university partnerships to fund your venture.
• 🎯 Why "just starting" is the most powerful advice, even if your first idea is destined to fail.
• 🤝 How to build a business that collaborates with, rather than competes against, traditional institutions like schools.

📝 About Summer Miller

Summer Miller is the founder of My Little Venture, a platform empowering kids to become young entrepreneurs. Her journey began in a small village in China, where she learned the value of hard work and resourcefulness from a young age. After moving to the U.S. and earning her MBA, she spent a decade in corporate America before co-founding a home care company, which she successfully scaled to 1,000 employees and exited. Summer's unique perspective is shaped by her experience moving from scarcity to incredible success, giving her a deep understanding of the mindset required to build impactful and profitable businesses.

🎯 Summer’s BEST Piece of Advice for Wantrepreneurs and Entrepreneurs

"Sometimes we think a lot and we think too much, and the thinking and the analyzing process stops us from taking actions. So just start."

📢 Memorable Quotes

• "You don't try, you don't know." – Summer Miller, quoting her daughter Piper's entrepreneurial wisdom.
• "It's a whole cycle of understanding the effort, working towards it, and be patient. Be patient for the moment when the opportunities come. You can seize the opportunity." – Summer Miller
• "I realized I love building things, facing challenges from owning our own businesses, and I wasn't ready to just step away from creating." – Summer Miller

🔗 Links & Resources

• Website: www.mylittleventure.com
• Connect with Summer on LinkedIn
• Follow My Little Venture on LinkedIn, Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram.