The Dillon England Show

John Glon spent a decade at GE climbing a ladder he wasn't sure he wanted to be on. He left corporate America in 2014, bet on himself, and built Great Lakes Essential Power from the ground up in Michigan. The company grew but Covid hit hard. When the debt piled on John found himself running a business on an operating system while ignoring everything it was supposed to fix.  He was golfing and conn...

Dave LT works with a company that pulls data from connected cars to make roads safer: Compass IoT. He grew up in a small corner of Australia, watching the rest of the world through a TV screen and assuming he'd never really register in it. Self-confidence began to disappear in high school, but when he started saying yes, he learned that trying actually makes things possible. In this episode we got...

Most people know Blake's from the cider mill out in Armada, MI. Five years ago, Bobby Blake took that heritage and launched Bakehouse 46. Today they have six locations across Metro Detroit, from Ann Arbor to Grosse Pointe, and a menu that covers cupcakes, gourmet donuts, savory pastries, bagels, and a full cafe line. They make their donuts fresh in every single store, every morning. I invited Bobb...

At the peak of George Rivera building his company, he was practically printing money, but was working 90 hours a week and hating life. The business had everything. His family got what was left. He had to stop being the answer to everything inside his company. He built the systems, transferred the ownership, and stepped back. Two years later the business had scaled past $50 million and he was worki...

Trevor Baker built one of the most respected YouTube agencies in the world starting from a roach-infested apartment in New York - editing videos for $20 a pop. A LinkedIn message changed his trajectory: One conversation turned into a coffee meeting, which turned into a business partnership, which turned into even more partnerships. That gave Trevor the proof he needed that he could build something...

Manager Jon has worked with TikTok, brokered KSI fights, built podcast studios, and managed some of the biggest creators on the internet. But that's only half of it, the version everyone sees. He’s spent years grinding through YouTube channels through a difficult childhood. After one rough night with his dad, his mom tried to comfort him with, "It's okay, son. We were never made to get out." As he...

Daniel Russell is VP of National Sales at Trion Solutions, one of the fastest-growing PEO companies in the country. He’s been in sales for over 26 years and he helps businesses manage payroll and HR for over 1.2 million employees worldwide. And he has a 98.7% client retention rate. In this episode of The Dillon England Show, we covered: → Why the question "How much does it cost?" is never really a...

At 40, Mike “C-Roc” Ciorrocco had everything most people chase. He went on a self-discovery journey, started surrounding himself with mentors who had what he wanted, and made one commitment: getting on podcasts to build relationships, and eventually- see where it leads. What it led to was over 2,000 podcast appearances, a top-tier booking agency called That1 Agency, a WhatsApp community of 600+ op...

Matt Loria built a top-tier cybersecurity and IT firm without a single tech degree or certification. Back when he and his brother ran a computer recycling business, they went repeatedly through IT providers. It was always the same: things started great, then the service just vanished. When Matt eventually told his brother he was starting his own IT firm, his brother pointed out the obvious.. "You...

Most people who want to change the world start with a cause, not with Chris Lambert, ‘coz he started with a crisis… Chris Lambert, Founder & CEO of Next Level Nonprofit, grew up in a small town in northern Indiana, gave his faith the finger at 16, then spent six years chasing whatever he thought would make him happy, but no, it didn't, then there became a chance encounter at a church service i...

Most people think real estate is easy money. Donny Samson knows better. He got his license at 22, just because a friend did it first and his wife said, "If he can do it, you can." His first two commissions paid for her engagement ring. He was hooked. But building a career is one thing. Building a company is another. When his dad handed him the keys to Samson Properties and made him CEO in 2019, Do...

Most people know Herman Moore as the Detroit Lions' greatest wide receiver. The records. The Pro Bowls. What they don't know is what happened after. Herman left the NFL and walked straight into one of the hardest seasons of his life. Business. He lost nearly everything. Got told no by banks, investors, and people who couldn't see past the helmet. He had to rebuild from scratch, in a world that kep...

Amy Wang spent over 20 years building a career she never planned. She started premed at Michigan State University simply because she liked school — until she realized she couldn’t handle blood. Needing to graduate on time without extra loans, she switched to industrial-organizational psychology, not fully knowing what it was, just that it fit. That uncertainty became a pattern. Not in a reckless w...

Wes Mathews got his first job washing dishes at 12 years old. He built High Level Marketing from nothing into a company doing over $22 million in revenue. And then he sold it. Three years later, Wes started Stealth Consulting with his original partner again—same trust, just a lot more wisdom. This time, he knew exactly who he wanted to work with and wasn't chasing revenue just to chase it. And he...

Patrick Gomez quit his job as a CMO, filed an LLC for a hundred bucks, and sat at his desk thinking clients would just show up. They didn't. He panicked and DM'd 3,000 people on LinkedIn over two days straight. Got five clients. Lost all five almost immediately. That was the beginning. Patrick is a serial entrepreneur who built SiteLyft, a subscription website business, from those early failures....

Greg Peters spent 15 years as a computer programmer before realizing something was missing...  He started his own web development business in '94 but hit a wall; he lacked social skills and couldn't bring himself to cold call. Greg saw the problem and began taking networking classes. And it changed everything. Now Greg teaches professionals, entrepreneurs, and credit unions how to build networks t...

Nick Freitas spent 10 years in the Virginia State Legislature representing James Madison's district. He was a Green Beret. He's built a following of millions. And he's personally been a long time dream guest of mine. In our conversation, Nick talks about what his wife once told him... she didn't need him to be weak; she needed him to be tender. What follows is one of the most honest discussions ab...

Dante Brunelli, founder of LaunchOS, believes one thing matters most in business: if you can’t grow, you won’t last. Comfort doesn’t build anything... He learned that through thousands of sales calls which shaped his confidence and pushed him forward. We talk about earning trust, adding value before asking for anything, and why showing up every day matters more than talent. My big takeaway: we lea...

Jim Steffen has done things most people only dream about. Serial entrepreneur, former American Ninja Warrior contestant, and known as “America’s Fun Fitness Coach,” he’s spent a lifetime proving that exercise is the best medicine we’re not taking. We get into why gyms don’t work for most people, the surprising connection between movement and mental health, and the philosophy behind Jim’s homemade...

Dr. Vance Cast started out helping a few friends navigate who to trust online in the world of trading. When he discovered there wasn’t anyone worth trusting, he built the system himself. What began as a simple promise grew into a community of traders who trade together, argue together, laugh together, and change each other’s lives. Vance talks about the moments that made him see this was bigger th...

When John Truscott left politics to build his own PR firm, he didn’t realize how heavy the pressure would hit. Lost clients. Bare-bones months. Thirty paychecks depending on him. And he learned very quickly: if you won't show up, your business won't either.  He remembers taking heat for voicing unpopular opinions as the governor of Michigan’s press secretary, and later navigating an unlikely merge...

Ethan Lloyd built a marketing agency from scratch, landing major gigs with Detroit’s city government and helping both local florists and big names tell their story. He started starting small... $250 a month jobs and no experience. Then the real stories came out. The moment he realized he had no idea who supported or hated him. Why he’d rather work with real people, not liars or the ego-driven. And...

Manager Jon slept on an office floor for eight months, tasting carpet between dreams and the grind. He built studios from scratch. Connected with creators who had millions of followers but were still broke. Turns out “followers” don’t pay bills. Brand clarity and speaking real numbers do. Top takeaways: -Break the silence about your struggles. -Track what your time is actually worth. -Build someth...

I sit down with Coach Bob Shenefelt, creator of the Visionary Forum and author of Unscatter the Chatter, and talk about the real ups and downs of entrepreneurial living. Coach Bob shares his stories of failure and self-discovery, including how he almost lost everything... financially and personally. Why do visionary leaders struggle to slow down? How can building the right team save your business?...

Jocelyn Ho is the founder of Rare Plant Fairy a world-class rare tropical plant business after immigrating to the US. She shares how loneliness in a new country fed her curiosity and a collector's mindset which sparked the $1M idea - turning a pandemic hobby into a thriving company with 100,000+ plants, an international customer base, and a one-of-a-kind Detroit facility.  We talk building culture...