As entrepreneurs, we wear "busy" like a badge of honor. We fill every moment, chase every opportunity, and convince ourselves that constant motion equals progress. But what if this approach is actually holding us back? Ellen Williams, author of Creating Time: The Key to Productivity and Peace, challenges the hustle culture narrative and reveals why presence—not productivity—is the real competitive advantage for founders.

Ellen shares her journey from a verbally abusive marriage to building a thriving consulting practice, and how learning to be present transformed not just her business, but her entire life. We explore why founders resist rest, how identity shapes our relationship with work, and practical ways to create time (not just manage it) so you can build the business and life you actually want.

Highlights

• Why the biggest mistake founders make is believing they always have to be doing something

• The identity trap: How wearing yourself out becomes a false badge of honor

• Decision lists vs. to-do lists: A simple reframe that reduces overwhelm

• The power of being present: How it prevents burnout before you get there

• Why authenticity matters more than you think in building sustainable business relationships

• Small practices that cultivate presence: Starting with your phone and keys

• How to create time by making conscious choices in everyday moments

• The truth about entrepreneurship: You're going to make mistakes, and that's how you learn

Chapters

[0:00] Introduction to Ellen Williams

[1:04] The Importance of Presence and Self-Care

[3:16] Common Objections and Misconceptions

[6:14] The Role of Identity in Entrepreneurship

[8:17] Ellen's Personal Journey and Insights

[16:14] Practical Tips for Cultivating Presence

[24:31] Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Resources Mentioned

• Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins

• Creating Time: The Key to Productivity and Peace by Ellen Williams

• The Salient Strategist (Ellen Williams' firm)

Connect with Bryan Steele
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryan-steele-ks/

Want to join with other like minded entrepreneurs? Visit the Good Humans Growth Network for connections and support (and sign up for the next conference): https://www.theghgn.com/

Highlights

• Why holding back your best content is the opposite of what you should do in podcasting

• The real story behind a one-call close that happened because a prospect listened to five podcast episodes

• How podcasting builds trust faster than blog posts, TikToks, or traditional sales meetings

• Why 70% of podcasts never make it past episode 10—and how that creates opportunity for you

• The two essential pillars every founder needs to understand before launching a podcast

• Why "done is better than perfect" applies to podcasting just like every other aspect of building a business

• How to get specific with your niche using at least three distinctives

• When in your business journey you should actually start considering a podcast

• The leading vs. lagging indicators that matter when you're just starting out

• Why authenticity and imperfection are actually what listeners want to hear

Chapters

0:00 - Introduction to Bryan Steele and Podcasting
1:30 - The Paradigm Shift: Give Away Your Best Stuff
4:22 - Success Story: The One-Call Close
7:47 - Overcoming Imposter Syndrome and Fear of Imperfection
11:48 - Learning Through Practice: The Diary of a CEO Example
14:51 - Podcasting as a Metaphor for Business Growth
18:36 - Done is Better Than Perfect
21:40 - Leading vs. Lagging Indicators in Podcasting
28:25 - When to Start Considering a Podcast
31:51 - It's Not Too Late: The Numbers Behind Podcasting Opportunity
36:15 - Building Trust Through Consistency
40:49 - The Power of Authenticity Over Polish
42:33 - Bryan's Workshop Framework: Two Pillars of Podcasting
50:20 - Getting Specific with Your Niche
53:45 - Final Thoughts and How to Connect with Bryan

Resources

Forge Podcast Company
Website: forgepodcast.co

Connect with Bryan Steele
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryan-steele-ks/

Want to join with other like minded entrepreneurs? Visit the Good Humans Growth Network for connections and support (and sign up for the next conference): https://www.theghgn.com/

HIGHLIGHTS

• The paradigm shift: Your business isn't a job—it's your greatest financial asset

• Why most entrepreneurs leave corporate life but accidentally recreate the same limitations

• The delegation trap: How holding onto $60K tasks prevents you from building million-dollar value

• What it really takes to be in the top 1% of earners (the number might surprise you)

• The 18-24 month timeline: Why building wealth infrastructure takes longer than you think

• How guilt around money keeps good entrepreneurs from achieving the freedom they started their business for

• The "start with the answer" principle: Defining your exit before you're drowning in daily operations

• Why your first 2-5 years will be chaotic no matter how much advice you follow—and what to focus on anyway

CHAPTERS

[00:00] Introduction to Jason Lee and Exponent Prosperity Advisors

[01:38] The Paradigm Shift for Founders

[04:15] Understanding Wealth and Entrepreneurial Motivation

[08:00] The Importance of Delegation and Vision

[11:24] Challenges and Strategies for Wealth Accumulation

[15:43] Mindset and Identity in Wealth Building

[18:34] Setting the 1% Mindset

[18:58] Advanced Tax Strategies

[19:25] Leveraging Net Worth

[20:22] The Importance of Financial Independence

[21:52] Aspirational Goals and Planning

[25:49] The Entrepreneurial Journey

[27:19] Building a Comprehensive Plan

[30:35] Investing in People

[35:42] Overcoming Money Struggles

[36:47] Conclusion and Contact Information

RESOURCES MENTIONED

• Exponent Prosperity Advisors - https://exponentx.net

• Jason Lee on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonleeexponent/

• Email: jlee@exponentx.net

• C12 Group - Christian CEO peer advisory organization - https://www.joinc12.com/

• Katherine Pomerantz - Guest on Episode 2

Want to join with other like minded entrepreneurs? Visit the Good Humans Growth Network for connections and support: https://www.theghgn.com/

I sit down with my friend Dana Casto, a fractional Chief Marketing Officer who works with consultants and coaches, to tackle the marketing chaos that keeps business owners up at night. Dana shares his three-part framework—a Venn diagram approach that anyone can use to stop doing random acts of marketing and start producing real results. You'll learn why narrowing your focus is actually the secret to scaling, how to identify where your audience really is, and the exact sequence to follow before making your first marketing hire. If you're ready to move from scattered efforts to strategic growth, this conversation will change how you think about marketing forever.

HIGHLIGHTS

• The three biggest marketing mistakes: fragmentation, reactivity, and misalignment

• The 1-1-1 rule: one audience, one problem, one channel

• Why joy matters in choosing your marketing channels (and how it's like choosing a workout you'll actually do)

• Dana's three-circle Venn diagram for finding your marketing sweet spot: what you're exceptional at, what people will buy, and what brings you joy

• The critical sequence for your first marketing hire: clarity first, then strategy, then implementation

• Why marketing is a long game, not a quick win—and how small adjustments beat hard resets

• How to know if you should focus on email, LinkedIn, or another channel based on what you actually enjoy

• The most expensive misunderstanding: hiring implementers before you have a strategy

CHAPTERS

0:00 - Introduction: Meet Dana Casto, Fractional CMO

1:30 - The Marketing Paradigm Shift: Do Less, Not More

3:45 - The Three Marketing Mistakes: Fragmentation, Reactivity, and Misalignment

8:15 - The 1-1-1 Rule: One Audience, One Problem, One Channel

10:30 - Finding Your Marketing Channel: What Brings You Joy?

14:20 - The Three-Circle Venn Diagram Framework

18:45 - Dana's Journey to Focusing on Strategy

21:00 - Why Email Marketing Works (and Why We Love It)

28:30 - The Power of LinkedIn Comments for Relationship Building

31:15 - Your First Marketing Hire: The Expensive Mistakes to Avoid

35:40 - Clarity → Strategy → Implementation: The Right Sequence

38:20 - Demystifying Marketing Strategy

41:30 - Where to Find Dana + Final Thoughts on Intentional Growth

RESOURCES MENTIONED

• Dana Casto's website: whispr.us

• Dana Casto on LinkedIn

Want to join with other like minded entrepreneurs? Visit the Good Humans Growth Network for connections and support: https://www.theghgn.com/

HIGHLIGHTS

• Money is a flowing force (currency = current) that cannot stand still—your cash flow statement will never be zero

• The three roles money plays in your story: teammate (effective), treasure (delays success), or villain (gives away power)

• Making money the "treasure" shows up as "I'm not ready yet" or "I need to earn/deserve this first"

• Making money the "villain" sounds like "I could never charge that much" or "my clients will always be demanding"

• Every life event—positive or negative—has a significant financial consequence, creating financial trauma that shapes our decisions

• The average wedding costs $27,000; financial stress isn't about the money itself but about the emotions we attach to it

• Taxes are the biggest expense you'll pay in your lifetime—you need a smart system so you work for yourself, not the government

• Having clean financial data isn't enough; you need it organized in a way that helps you make strategic decisions

• The Money Storyteller Method has three pillars: Money Story (mindset), Money Systems (data), and Money Map (strategy)

• You don't stop being the chief of everything—you just become a smarter one

CHAPTERS

0:00 - Introduction: Understanding Founders' Mindset About Money

1:09 - The True Nature of Money: It's Always Moving

3:50 - Money as a Teammate: Assigning Jobs to Money

7:34 - The Hero's Journey: Storytelling and Money

10:39 - Common Money Archetypes: Treasure and Villain

18:10 - Financial Trauma and Its Impact on Money Mindset

21:18 - Integrating Professional Services with Storytelling

24:43 - Practical Steps for Founders: Financial Help and Assessments

26:54 - Conclusion: Becoming a Smarter Chief of Everything

RESOURCES MENTIONED

• Money Storyteller Method Assessment - Take the 10-minute assessment to get your Money Storyteller score across all three pillars (money story, money systems, money map)

• GROW 2026 Conference - Katherine Pomerantz will be offering Financial Readiness Review sessions in her consulting corner

• StoryBrand - Business storytelling framework referenced in the episode

• Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey - The storytelling research that forms the foundation of Katherine's money framework

Want to join with other like minded entrepreneurs? Visit the Good Humans Growth Network for connections and support: https://www.theghgn.com/

Sarah Sears, founder and principal of S Design, joins me to break down what branding really means for small business owners and why it's so much more than visual identity. We explore the uncomfortable truth that your business will evolve over years (not months), why designing for yourself instead of your customer is a costly mistake, and how brand strategy connects to everything from sales to hiring. Sarah shares practical advice on creating systems that save time, the power of consistency, and why trusting your gut about brand misalignment is actually strategic intelligence at work.

Highlights

• Brand is the perception customers and stakeholders have about you—not just your logo and colors
• The evolution of your business takes years, and trying to shortchange this process always backfires
• Brand strategy is fundamentally about differentiation: solving problems differently and aligning with what customers actually need
• The biggest waste of money is not having a branding system in place—teams waste time daily rethinking tone, messaging, and visual decisions
• Your purpose lasts forever, values anchor to purpose, but mission and goals evolve over time
• Brand strategy and business strategy should align like two strands of DNA
• That "nagging feeling" when something doesn't feel right is brand misalignment—trust your intuition
• Design thinking is iterative: gather research, reflect, incorporate, and continuously improve
• Schedule regular time (monthly or weekly) to reflect on what you're learning about your brand and business

Chapters

0:00 - Introduction and Guest Welcome

1:12 - The Importance of Branding for Small Businesses

2:17 - Understanding Brand Strategy

5:30 - Differentiation and Customer Alignment

6:51 - Brand Identity and Consistency

10:07 - Common Branding Mistakes and Solutions

15:27 - Evolving Your Brand and Continuous Improvement

19:55 - Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Resources Mentioned

• S Design Inc. - Sarah Sears' branding agency: sdesigninc.com
• Sarah Sears on LinkedIn
• ChatGPT

Want to join with other like minded entrepreneurs? Visit the Good Humans Growth Network for connections and support: https://www.theghgn.com/