The Calling and the Climb

In this episode of The Calling and the Climb, Phillip Hampton sits down with Taylor Kovar for a conversation about faith, entrepreneurship, stewardship, and the deeper personal transformation that often comes with building and leading businesses.   Taylor Kovar is a CFP® professional, entrepreneur, and business leader who grew up in a converted barn where his parents taught him the value of hard w...

What does it take to turn a childhood passion into a career? In this episode of The Calling and the Climb, Phillip sits down with videographer and entrepreneur Garet Maddox, founder of Cinemaddox. Garet shares how a love for making videos as a kid eventually grew into a professional career serving clients across music, sports, churches, construction, comedy, and film.   They discuss the realities...

In this episode of The Calling and the Climb, Phillip sits down with entrepreneur, business strategist, and author Galen Walters to discuss his remarkable journey from financial collapse and bankruptcy to helping build and lead businesses that now serve grocery retailers around the world. Over more than four decades in business, Galen has founded multiple companies, navigated private equity transa...

In this episode of The Calling and the Climb, Phillip Hampton sits down with entrepreneur Ryan O’Neil, founder of Curate, to talk about the real journey of building a business from the ground up. Ryan shares how he went from failed startup experiences to launching Curate from a simple hackathon idea with only $600, eventually growing it into a multi-million dollar company. This conversation dives...

In this episode of The Calling and the Climb, Phillip Hampton sits down with John Darby to explore what leadership looks like across multiple arenas—from public service to entrepreneurship to scaling mission-driven organizations. John shares insights from building businesses, leading teams of over 100 employees, and navigating the challenges of growth, culture, and responsibility. The conversation...

What happens the morning after you sell the business you spent 26 years building? In this episode of The Calling and the Climb, Phillip shares the unexpected journey that followed his exit—moving from relentless pressure and responsibility into a season of rest that transformed his perspective on work, faith, and purpose. From the surreal freedom of the first morning after the sale to the deeper r...

After 26 years of building his company from the ground up, Phillip Hampton walks through the real process of selling a business From finding advisors and hiring an investment banker to navigating valuations, due diligence, letters of intent, and the emotional roller coaster of negotiating a deal. In this episode of The Calling and the Climb, Phillip shares what founders should expect when preparin...

In this episode of The Calling and the Climb, Phillip Hampton shares how the momentum toward his exit strategy was suddenly disrupted by COVID and personal loss. He reflects on navigating crisis, stepping away from the business during a critical season, and the importance of building loyal leaders who can carry the vision forward when life demands your attention elsewhere.

In this episode of The Calling and the Climb, Phillip Hampton and Kent Curry continue the journey toward an exit strategy by unpacking a critical season of course correction, renewed focus, and disciplined leadership. Phillip shares how setting ego aside, aligning key leaders, tightening spending, and monitoring the right metrics helped position the company for growth and marketability. From clear...

After building the infrastructure, capital, and model to scale, everything looked ready for a powerful exit. The strategy worked. The growth was real. But behind the wins, something was drifting. In this episode, Phillip shares the painful season when prayerful decisions led to unexpected setbacks, misalignment crept in, finances spiraled, and he had to confront bitterness, forgiveness, and the we...

In this episode of The Calling and the Climb, Phillip continues the story of how a single unexpected opportunity became the catalyst for building an exit strategy. Using the idea of known knowns known unknowns and unknown unknowns he walks through the mindset shifts decisions and faith driven moments that allowed his business to scale secure funding build the right team and step into a much bigger...

In this episode of The Calling and the Climb , Kent and Phillip dive into what it actually takes to prepare a business for sale long before it ever hits the market. Phillip shares lessons from selling his 26-year IT company, including how valuation works, why repeatable revenue matters more than big one-time wins, the hidden cleanup required in org charts, documentation, and leadership, and why fo...

In this episode of The Calling and the Climb, Phil Hampton and Kent Curry unpack why every entrepreneur needs an exit strategy whether you’re ready to sell or not. Phil shares the real timeline behind selling his company after 26 years, the hard lessons he learned about making a business valuable beyond the owner, and the leadership moves required to work himself out of day to day operations. They...

In this episode, Phil and Kent break down the “small things” that often get overlooked but can make a huge difference in business success. From meeting discipline and respecting people’s time, to prompt communication, follow through, and even dressing for success, these practical habits help build trust, professionalism, and momentum. If you’re trying to level up your leadership and your results,...

In this episode of The Calling and the Climb, Phil shares the unexpected way humor and creativity shaped his business journey. What started as skits, church banquets, and youth group dramas eventually became a powerful marketing tool that helped him stand out in a serious, buttoned-up legal industry. From creating the wildly popular “Bill and Phil Show” for attorneys across the country to learning...

What does Christmas have to say to entrepreneurs facing fear, uncertainty, and pressure? In this special Christmas episode, Phillip Hampton walks through four moments in the Christmas story where angels spoke one consistent message: Fear not. A powerful reminder for founders navigating silence, calling, reputation, and success.

What is it really like to be a founder? In this episode, Philip reflects on 26 years of building and eventually selling a business, sharing the realities people rarely see. From the insecurity of making payroll and carrying all the risk, to the mindset required to think differently, solve complex problems, and endure sleepless nights, this conversation offers an honest look at founder life. Philip...

In this episode, Phil talks about the often overlooked idea of God anointing people for work outside the church. He shares how his faith shaped his business journey, including a moment when he prayed for God’s anointing before a major tech presentation and felt the same lift he had experienced in ministry. If you are trying to build or lead in your own strength, this episode encourages you to invi...

Customer service isn’t just a task, it’s a mindset. In this episode, Phil explains why great service can outperform sales and marketing, and how small personal touches create long-term loyalty. He shares practical keys like personalizing your approach, communicating clearly, reading your clients, and cooling off before responding. Phil also tells the story of the 2010 Nashville flood and how his t...

In this special Thanksgiving episode, Philip reflects on 26 years of entrepreneurship and the many things he has learned to be grateful for. He shares some more obvious blessings like God’s faithfulness, loyal employees, long-term clients, wise advisors, and the freedom to build a business in America. He also highlights some very unexpected things that shaped him, including trials, financial scarc...

In this episode, Phil digs into one of the hardest parts of running and growing a business: leading through change. He shares real world stories from his years running an IT consulting business, from introducing ergonomic keyboards to resistant teams, to overhauling document management systems, to navigating the painful shift from hourly billing to block hour retainers. He unpacks why people resis...

In this episode Phillip opens up about one of the hardest realities in business, turnover. From losing key people without warning to realizing he was managing out of fear, he shares how those painful lessons reshaped his leadership. He walks through practical steps he learned over time, documenting institutional knowledge, creating overlapping roles, rewarding longevity, and easing client transiti...

In this episode of The Calling And The Climb, Philip Hampton shares how God-given dreams can shape your life and business. From a vision he wrote as a 14-year-old to seeing it fulfilled years later, Philip reflects on how faith, persistence, and divine timing work together. He also recounts a powerful moment on a flight when God renewed his vision and set him on a path that would unfold over the n...

In this honest and deeply personal conversation, Phillip Hampton opens up about the early years of building his business in Nashville, the doubts, insecurities, and constant feeling that he didn’t have enough. No money. No business training. No connections. Even personal insecurities made him question whether he belonged in the room. But through it all, Phillip learned one of the most powerful tru...

When you hit a wall in business, most people say, “It can’t be done.” But for Philip, four simple words flipped that mindset forever: “It can be done.” In this episode, he shares how a sign on Ronald Reagan’s desk became the motto that built his company, from fixing “unfixable” software to standing up a multimillion document database in less than a month. It’s a story of optimism, grit, and believ...