This week on Trades Talk, host Justin White checks in from Lake Oroville, California, where he’s kicking off a wake surfing weekend with a 7:30 AM podcast session and an already blazing 85 degrees on the deck. But before hitting the water, Justin shares three powerful insights that every business leader should be thinking about this August.

The episode opens with lessons from the Disruptors Live event featuring Ken Thomas, focused on helping landscape and service businesses scale toward eight figures. Justin breaks down three core pillars of growth: the importance of personal and team development, building strong systems like the Green Dot Operating System, and finding clarity around roles instead of simply hiring more people. The takeaway is simple but powerful: more people is not always the answer to chaos. Clean systems, smart hiring, and clear processes are.

In this episode, Justin shares:

Justin also gives a quick demo of ChatGPT 5’s capabilities, including how he used it to generate a steak recipe by uploading a photo of his grill. With tools that now understand emotional tone, manage calendars, and write complex documents, the future of AI is not only here; it is business ready.

If you are leading a company and looking to finish the year strong, this episode is packed with real insights, new tools, and a sharp reminder to execute now or fall behind later.