Do More By Doing Less - Time Freedom for Entrepreneurs, Small Business Owners, and Solopreneurs

Show Summary: In this episode, I share the story of a liquor store owner who was convinced high-end wine accessories would transform his business. A simple one-day customer tracking experiment revealed something completely different. The lesson is one I see repeatedly with small business owners: when you try to market to everyone, you usually end up connecting with no one. The businesses that grow...

Show Summary: In this episode, I challenge one of the most common pieces of business advice out there: "Follow your passion." Through stories of entrepreneurs who loved what they did but struggled to build sustainable businesses, I explain why passion alone is rarely enough. More often, successful business owners start with a skill they're good at, create value with it, and develop a deeper passio...

Show Summary: In this episode, I explain why offering too many products or services can actually hurt your sales. Using examples from Netflix, a famous Columbia University study, and my time working with SERVPRO, I break down why confused customers rarely buy. The businesses that grow the fastest are usually the ones known for one or two simple things instead of twenty complicated options. Takeawa...

Is owning a business actually riskier than having a job?  By the way, I have both, so I'm not exactly a "burn the boats" kind of guy:) Show Summary: In this episode, I share the story of turning down a “safe” corporate job at John Deere during a recession and why that decision completely changed how I think about risk. Most people assume entrepreneurship is unstable, but after years of coaching an...

What actually matters after 100 episodes of doing more by doing less? Show Summary: This 100th episode is a reflection on the biggest lessons I’ve learned from conversations with people like Bob Burg, Jason Elkins, Emily Heard, and others. The common thread is simple. Success does not come from doing more. It comes from focusing on what actually creates value, protecting your time, and being inten...

In 2023, I had knee replacement surgery and I went in for several follow-up appointments.  It seems like every time I go in for a follow-up appointment, they ask me these same 15 questions they asked me last time, because why would that automate and populate (something about HIPAA, blah, blah, blah 🤔.) I usually get frustrated, but once in a while, I don't mind it so much because I like answering...

Tired of hustle culture telling you to sacrifice everything just to “make it”? Show Summary: In this episode, I challenge the grind-at-all-costs mindset and explain why success does not require burnout, arrogance, or sacrificing your entire life. Using the classic stones, pebbles, and sand analogy, I break down how to prioritize what actually matters so you can build a successful business and stil...

Why do two-thirds of small businesses fail in the first few years? Show Summary: In this episode, I break down the three patterns I’ve seen since I started coaching in 2007 that quietly derail entrepreneurs and busy professionals. The stats say only about 30 percent make it long term. From my experience, the difference usually comes down to experience, confidence, and planning. These issues start...

Ever end the day exhausted and still feel like the most important things got pushed to tomorrow? That sweet Lilly Bug:) She's always good for a lesson or two. Show Summary: In this episode, I talk about why burnout usually isn’t caused by doing the wrong things, but by trying to do everything. Using a simple bedtime story moment with my daughter Lilly, I explain how a few keystone habits can quiet...

I've about reached my limit with #hustleculture. You can be productive without telling everyone how you are on a mission to change the world. Chill out for a minute and calm down:) Show Summary: In this episode, I explain why chasing big, ever changing goals often creates more stress than progress. Instead, I share a simpler approach. Design the week you actually want to live, then fit your priori...

Ever wish you could take the best lessons from a whole year of conversations and boil them down into something useful and entertaining? Show Summary: In this special highlights episode, I pull together my favorite moments from 2025, just like those old Golden Girls clip shows I loved as a kid. You’ll hear insights from bestselling author John G. Miller on personal accountability, Emily Heard on do...

Ever feel like you have to act tough to be taken seriously as a leader? Show Summary: In this episode, I talk with Dr. J.J. Peterson, longtime StoryBrand expert and host of the Badass Softy podcast. JJ shares why real leadership comes from being human, not harsh. We get into how the four story roles shape behavior, why the strongest leaders act as guides, and how joy and connection make you more e...

Robert and Kay Lee Fukui, authors of Tandem: The Married Entrepreneur’s Guide for Greater Work-Life Balance, and hosts of the Thriving in Tandem podcast Free assessment for married entrepreneurs : marriedentrepreneur.co/domore Summary : In this episode, I sit down with Robert and Kay Lee Fukui to talk about how married entrepreneurs can build successful businesses without losing their marriages in...

Ever wonder why doing great work isn’t enough to earn consistent referrals? Show Summary: In this episode, I welcome back Stacey Brown Randall, author of Generating Business Referrals Without Asking and the new The Referable Client Experience. Stacey explains why being referable starts with a client experience that creates emotional connection and trust beyond basic customer service. She outlines...

I had a conversation with Peggy Sullivan about the idea of time poverty, which is that feeling of ending the day without having done anything that really mattered. She walked me through her personal wake-up call and the eight years she spent creating a system to help people take back their time without sacrificing success. Her method focuses on being intentional with how we spend our time instead...

I talked with cognitive performance strategist Emily Heird about how professionals can avoid burnout and perform at their best by understanding how our brains respond to stress and distraction. We dug into how busyness has become a toxic badge of honor, why rest and recovery are essential for real productivity, and how chasing dopamine through devices or overwork is quietly wrecking our focus and...

Man, I just had a bad week.  It sucked.  I needed to hear about what was going well in my life. Then I remembered a brief LinkedIn Live I did a couple of years ago, on this exact topic. In fact, it went viral (well, LinkedIn's version of viral:) Coincidentally, it was the same day I launched this podcast. So instead of reinventing the wheel, I'm sharing it here; both for you and me:) Time Freedom...

Most people spend more time planning a kitchen remodel than they do planning their business. My beautiful wife Sarah and I have lived in four homes together, all of them fixer-uppers with their own quirks and challenges. We never had the skills of a professional crew, but we always had a plan that started with a clear budget, a timeline, and a realistic understanding of what we could actually get...

In this episode, I chat with Lauren Ruth Martin, LPC-MHSP, to discuss the challenges of overthinking, overdoing, and burnout. Lauren shares her insights on how perfectionism, people-pleasing, and overachieving show up in people's lives and how they can address these struggles. From personal experiences to actionable strategies, this episode dives into the importance of setting boundaries, identify...

In this episode, I chat with Lauren V. Davis, an entrepreneur who took her business on the road. After years of running a successful record store and coaching others on personal branding, she and her partner decided to travel the country in a van. We dive into how she made it all work. Getting the bandwidth for client calls, simplifying systems, and managing her business while living off the grid....

How do you use AI to enhance your marketing without losing your voice? Show Summary: In this episode, I talk with Kathryn Good of Good Circle Marketing about how she and her team are using AI to serve small businesses and nonprofits in smarter, more authentic ways. We cover everything from how to get started with AI, to building a strategy-first marketing plan, to creating long-form content that c...

More isn't always better...in fact, more is usually worse. Summary: In this episode, I talk about the Law of Diminishing Returns and how too much can lead to less progress. Using a story from my dad’s furniture store, I explain how adding more people or tasks often creates chaos instead of better results. I share practical examples, like over-seasoning food or over-editing content, to show how thi...

What's the secret to getting paid for what you know, not just what you do? Join us as Peter Thomson, often regarded as the Brian Tracy of the UK, dives into the art of valuing your knowledge and transforming it into profitable business ventures. With a career spanning over five decades, Peter shares how he shifted from running Europe’s largest tracing agency to becoming a celebrated author and spe...

 I am flipping the script a little on you today. Instead of doing a solo podcast here, I am being interviewed. I was recently on the Investor Coaching show with Paul Winkler, and no, I'm not talking about how to invest. He does an excellent job of going deeper than just discussing finances. It's a very popular radio show and a very popular podcast, and we're going to talk in depth about how to cre...

How can we work smarter and avoid getting lost in busy work? Show Summary: We’ve all had those days where we sit at our laptops, work for hours, and yet somehow accomplish nothing. In this episode, I talk with Kristen about how she sets boundaries, prioritizes tasks, and avoids getting sucked into an endless cycle of checking emails and scrolling. She shares how external accountability, batching t...