S6:E40

Most businesses either have a revenue problem or an operating problem.

In this episode, Dr. LL explores why capable founders often stay trapped inside businesses they built: overloaded, reactive, and too central to everything. "Founder fatigue" is real, folks.

If people can't move without you, the company is constrained.
If every issue escalates to the founder, scale is fragile.
If systems are weak, growth becomes expensive.

Dan Norcross shares a grounded perspective on building businesses that function with more discipline and less drama.

Guest
Dan Norcross
Entrepreneur / Operator

Core Problems

• Founder dependency
• Poor delegation structures
• Operational chaos
• Growth without leverage

Practical Takeaways

• Systemize recurring decisions
• Build accountability into roles
• Reduce founder dependency
• Mature operations before forcing scale

Timestamps
00:00 Intro
05:00 Why chaos persists
11:00 Systems and leverage
18:00 Accountability culture
26:00 What mature businesses do differently

Who This Episode Is For
Founders ready to run a company, not just carry one.

This conversation reinforces a core STEERus™ principle:
When the founder becomes the business, the business cannot fully grow.

✅ Subscribe for weekly conversations on entrepreneurship

🔁 Share this episode with someone who needs to be heard

Follow STEERus on social media:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DrLLSmallBusiness

Instagram: https://instagram.com/steerus

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/steerus

Twitter: https://x.com/steerus_io

#burnout #entrepreneurship #growth #growthmindset #smallbusiness

S6:E39

Trust isn't built by showing up more. It's built by being understood.

In this episode, Dr. LL explores a recurring challenge facing entrepreneurs: why visibility alone isn't translating into credibility or growth.

If people don't trust you, they don't buy.
If they don't understand you, they can't trust you.
And if your signal is inconsistent, you remain invisible, no matter how often you show up.

Kira Shishkin brings perspective on what it actually takes to build trust in modern business environments, where attention is fragmented and skepticism is high.

Guest
Kira Shishkin
Entrepreneur

Core Problems

• Confusion between visibility and trust
• Weak or inconsistent messaging
• Lack of intentional relationship-building
• Difficulty standing out in crowded markets

Practical Takeaways

• Trust requires clarity before consistency
• Messaging must be simple enough to repeat
• Relationships drive conversion—not exposure
• Credibility is earned through alignment

Timestamps
00:00 Introduction
04:00 Trust challenges today
09:00 Visibility vs credibility
15:00 Relationship dynamics
22:00 Converting trust into growth

Who This Episode Is For
Founders and operators trying to strengthen credibility and build trust with their audience.

This conversation reinforces a core STEERus™ principle:
When your signal is unclear, trust breaks and growth stalls.

Subscribe and share if this resonates.

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🔁 Share this episode with someone who needs to be heard

Follow STEERus on social media:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DrLLSmallBusiness

Instagram: https://instagram.com/steerus

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/steerus

Twitter: https://x.com/steerus_io 

#trust #sales #entrepreneur #smallbusiness

S6:E30

What happens when leadership is treated like status instead of stewardship?

In this episode, Dr. LL sits down with Jim Matuga, founder of Interaction Media, longtime entrepreneur, podcast host, spirit "ambassador" for West Virginia, and author of Humble Influence. We had a grounded conversation about culture, followership, faith, community, and what it really takes to lead people well in a turbulent era.

If people don't trust you, they won't follow you.
If they don't feel seen, they won't stay.
If leadership is performative instead of relational, culture eventually breaks under pressure.

Jim brings a perspective shaped by entrepreneurship in West Virginia, decades in media and marketing, and the lessons behind his book Humble Influence. The book is especially compelling because it pushes against a familiar leadership distortion: the idea that everyone must be the leader, or that followership is somehow lesser. Instead, Jim makes a thoughtful case that healthy followership is a choice, humility is strength, and better leadership often begins with understanding how to support, empower, and elevate others. Faith is part of that foundation too, not in a heavy-handed way, but as a steady moral center around service, love, and responsibility. I thoroughly enjoyed his book and read it cover to cover.

Guest
Jim Matuga
Founder, Interaction Media
Host, Positively West Virginia
Author, Humble Influence

BUY HIS BOOK HERE 👇

https://www.amazon.com/Humble-Influence-Strength-True-Followership/dp/B0F9WJFTSJ

Core Problems

• Founders assuming titles create followership

• Culture being treated as branding instead of operating discipline

• Teams underperforming when leadership becomes too centralized

• Small businesses trying to navigate AI disruption without losing their humanity

Practical Takeaways

• Culture pays dividends when it is practiced daily, not admired conceptually

• Strong businesses are built with people, not around one personality

• Followership is not weakness; it is a conscious form of contribution

• AI may disrupt execution, but trust, judgment, and human alignment still matter

• Community can become a strategic asset when people genuinely want each other to win

Timestamps
00:00 Welcome to Small Business Stories
01:29 What keeps Jim going after 500 episodes
05:35 What West Virginia teaches about business and belonging
11:15 Winning with people and building around excellence
15:16 Why culture became a turning point
17:14 The story behind Humble Influence
21:09 Leadership as a choice, not a title
24:24 AI, StoryMaker, and agency disruption
34:30 Faith, love, and the deeper why behind business

Who This Episode Is For
Entrepreneurs, founders, managers, and leadership-minded professionals trying to build trust, strengthen culture, and lead with more humility and clarity.

Invisible brands don't make money, and neither do businesses whose leadership signal is distorted from the inside out.

Subscribe, share, and send this episode to someone building a business with people at the center.

✅ Subscribe for weekly conversations on entrepreneurship

🔁 Share this episode with someone who needs to be heard

Follow STEERus on social media:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DrLLSmallBusiness

Instagram: https://instagram.com/steerus

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/steerus

Twitter: https://x.com/steerus_io

#Leadership #CompanyCulture #Entrepreneurship #entrepreneur #smallbusiness

Learn. Teach. Serve. That's a powerful motto and corporate culture that GCSIT's CEO, Michael Norring, has instilled in the workplace. It's more than a motto - people stand behind it - and employees are proud of the culture that they're helping create. Michael joins our show and shares some insights around digital transformation and how to lead an organization for growth. Here's the TL;DR - build awesome teams!

Meet Michael Esposito - a family man on a mission to be better and to do more. His inspiration, dedication to self-improvement, and commitment to his customers of DenTen insurance isn't something that you see much of these days. Tune in to get inspired. 

Meet the co-founders of Branch Energy: Alex Ince-Cushman and Daniel MacDonald. They're making it easy for consumers to be smart about their energy consumption. They're growing quickly and offfered great advice for founders enduring "slogging through the minutia." They said, "Entropy of the world wants companies to come apart," and they offer advice how to manage it.

This is a MUST-listen episode. Genecia Alluora, founder of Soul Rich Woman, will inspire and motivate you. At the brink of death, on the ledge of a 10-story building, she changed her life. Her mother pulled her back from the edge and said, "Turn your mess into your message." And she's never looked back.

Yuliia Mamonov is the Head of Content for Lemon.io, an innovative platform connecting clients to software developers on demand. Here's something you may not know - Lemon is based in Ukraine. Hear a first-hand account about some of the struggles trying to navigate the Russian war of aggression - and please do whatever you can to support Lemon and their staff.

Hair loss? Hair transplant? The field has shifted far from the era of late night infomercials touting the latest miracle cream. Andrew Kashian and his team at Solve Clinics are working hard to make the industry safer and more transparent to enable consumers to make better choices. Most entrepreneurs on our show struggle with growth - Andrew is struggling with hyper-growth and shares his inights on managing that.

S6:E29

Some leaders are trying to be more human and still losing traction. Others hold the line so hard that people stop trusting them. In this episode, Dr. LL and Holly Golebiowski explore the tension between empathy, authority, accessibility, and real leadership growth.

If people don't trust you, they won't follow you.
If they don't remember you, they won't look for you.
If your leadership creates distance, even unintentionally, people may comply for a while, but they will not stay deeply engaged.

Guest
Holly Golebiowski, known as Holly G
Leader Skills
Executive coach, facilitator, leadership development expert

Core Problems

• Leaders confusing empathy with over-accommodation

• Teams disengaging when leaders feel inaccessible or performative

• Coaching and leadership development becoming harder to evaluate in a crowded market

Practical Takeaways

• Empathy works best when it is paired with standards, clarity, and accountability

• Leaders need to ask what they may be doing to create the friction they see on their teams

• Strong leadership development is not about polish alone. It is about usefulness, credibility, and change people can actually apply

Timestamps
00:00 Accessibility, names, and first impressions in leadership
03:58 Reading a room and knowing whether learning is landing
08:27 Empathy without losing authority
12:12 Credible coaching versus performative branding
19:37 Internal coaching, AI coaching, and where the field may be heading

Who This Episode Is For
Entrepreneurs, managers, facilitators, and founders trying to lead people well in a crowded, overstimulated, high-pressure environment.

Invisible brands don't make money, and inaccessible leaders don't keep trust for long.

Subscribe, share, and keep building with clarity.

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🔁 Share this episode with someone who needs to be heard

Follow STEERus on social media:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DrLLSmallBusiness

Instagram: https://instagram.com/steerus

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/steerus

Twitter: https://x.com/steerus_io

Jim Barrood is the founder of Innovation+ and he's always on the cutting edge of what's new. The latest? Psychodelics - an industry which is still years behind the CBD industry but there's a lot of research in this area. 

Justin Huddy founded Radius Care to help family members manage the care of their loved ones. What's even more exceptional is that Justin has made his app free; it ties into Medicare and helps people find the most cost effective care solutions. Justin shares his thoughts on what he would have done differently as entrepreneurship can be a lonely journey.

Jim Kniest is a gamer, software developer, and entrepreneur. For the last five years, he's been building a unique app which helps people discover their sexual play styles. You can find his app, Halos & Sins, on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09R9BHFPR

Lauren Prager is the Chief Strategy Officer at Synapse, focused on building a tech ecosystem in Florida. She offered wonderful advice about aligning your heart with your purpose and how the community in Tampa is there for each other. When people align with what matters, and treat each other with kindness and respect, amazing advances are possible.

Read more at: https://gritdaily.com/lauren-prager-cso-for-synapse-florida-talks-about-what-really-drives-innovation/

Victoria Loskutova recently founded, "Bad Ass Bureau," an online agency to help amplify the voices of female founders in particular (although not exclusively) as we all know that ALL voices matter!

Maximilian de Melo and Patrick Niederdrenk operate MxP Group, which includes America One Luxury Real Estate in Arizona. With an exceptional work ethic and attention to detail, the co-founders and friends bring complementary skills to the table. They share how their grit and professionalism meet - and exceed - the expectations of demanding clients. 

This episode was both extra special and challenging to produce. As a breast cancer survivor myself, it was beautiful to hear Abby Match recount her dance with cancer and to learn about the advocacy work that she's doing to promote screening for Ashkenazi Jews who are carriers for the BRCA1 mutation. She's a force - leopard fierce! And she shares tips for building resilience and taming the Fear Monster.

S6:E28

Trust is rarely lost in one dramatic moment. More often, it slips through small signals of distraction, misalignment, or weak preparation.

In this episode of Small Business Stories, Dr. LL sits down with Glenn Poulos, President of Prague USA and author of Never Sit in the Lobby, to talk about the discipline behind long-term sales relationships, the difference between activity and progress, and what it really takes to stay credible over decades.

If people don't trust you, they won't buy from you.
If they don't remember you, they won't call you.

Guest
Glenn Poulos
President, Prague USA
Author of Never Sit in the Lobby

👉 BUY HIS BOOK HERE --> https://www.amazon.com/Never-Sit-Lobby-Winning-Business/dp/1777939135
Expertise: sales discipline, customer relationships, professional presence, and long-term trust building

Core Problems
• Sales teams mistaking busyness for effectiveness
• Relationship erosion caused by distracted, low-readiness interactions
• Overinvesting in digital visibility while underinvesting in real-world credibility

Practical Takeaways
• Why readiness before the meeting shapes the meeting
• How genuine rapport is built without becoming performative or pushy
• Why the best long-term sales relationships come from discipline, memory, timing, and trust

Timestamps
00:00 Power, infrastructure, and why Glenn's industry matters
05:35 The meaning behind Never Sit in the Lobby
13:53 Pre-call preparation and remembering faces
17:16 Motion vs. progress in sales
24:26 Personal brand, company brand, and staying credible
35:13 Longevity, resilience, and the next right thing

Who This Episode Is For
Founders, sales leaders, consultants, and professionals who want to build durable trust instead of relying on performative visibility.

Invisible brands don't make money, and neither do businesses that send mixed signals when trust is on the line.

Subscribe, share, and follow Small Business Stories for more grounded conversations on visibility, credibility, and growth.

✅ Subscribe for weekly conversations on entrepreneurship

🔁 Share this episode with someone who needs to be heard

Follow STEERus on social media:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DrLLSmallBusiness

Instagram: https://instagram.com/steerus

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/steerus

Twitter: https://x.com/steerus_io

#sales #success #relationships #entrepreneur #smallbusiness

Sachin Jhangiani co-founded Elevate Money after learning a thing or two on Wall Street. He wanted to find more purpose in his work so he created a platform where individuals can pool their resources and grow their assets together. Fractional everything is the current trend, and he's fully dialed into it to do good in the world and move towards equality. Sachin offers some extremely wise - and candid - tips about entrepreneurship that ever founder should take note of.

Dr. Valeria Kogan is the co-founder of Fermata diagnosing plant health. Each year, millions of crop harvests are wasted and the world is increasingly seeking foods grown without chemicals. AgTech is not the industry you'll typically find young, female founders - but Valeria isn't letting that hold her back. She's got the grit and talent needed for startup success and shares what she's learned along the way.

Claire Gunter has extensive experience in customer support, leveraging emotional skills to build relationships that last. She's worked at ZenDesk and is now the Latin America global manager of sales at eBanX, which is Brazil's first unicorn. Claire shares some tips on how to connect with customers and how to speak up to create opportunities for yourself. And she's vowed to never wear uncomfortable shoes again!

The Grit Files (formerly known as Like a Boss) gets into the gritty backstory of US Army veteran, Luke Ryan, a war poet and author. Luke recently published his first novel, "The First Marauder." His day job keeps him hopping as the social media manager for the fastest growing coffee company in America. Tune in!

Kanika Wahi took over the responsibility of developing a topical product originally designed by her father to better manage her sister's allergies. Since then, Trutek Corp. has grown and Kanika talks about the dynamics of being an executive - and a relative - in the world of formulation chemistry and business.

The Grit Files (formerly known as Like a Boss) with Loralyn Mears & Guest Brittany Woyma features the Startup Stories of WhereToBuy.io which offers the modern way to find the products you love on retail shelves. As a mother of three and former advertising agency executive, Brittany has embraced entrepreneurship and shares some tips on why she ditched advertising for startup tech.

Dr. José Morey is on a mission to make STEM accessible to everyone. As the Intergalactic Doctor, born in Puerto Rico but traveling the world supporting amazing projects like Elon Musk's Hyperloop, NASA, artificial intelligence for health at IBM Watson and more, his message is that STEM is for everyone because, in his words, "representation matters."

Ryan Walker founded one of the most successful social media management companies on the planet: TSMA. As in, "The Social Media Agency." His team pioneered the influencer economy engaging in celebrity social media management long before it became trendy to do so. He offers listeners some valuable insights and tips into how to grow your social media presence.

Need some inspiration? Maybe along with a side of motivation? Dr. Tommy Watson faced incredible hardships growing up with his five siblings and parents who were drug addicts and repeatedly incarcerated. He moved around a lot from one foster home to another, lived in motels, and lived apart from his siblings, but he grew strong fueled by the desire to be free to make choices. Check out his story here: https://www.tawatson.com/ 

Carole Burton isn't afraid to tackle big initiatives within an organization. Like equity. She thrives on helping create lasting change. At her core, Carole understands people. And she's developed a model that helps people evolve their thinking and behavior to be more inclusive towards meeting the global goal - and need - for equity and cohesion.

S6:E27

A lot of founders are generating revenue and staying busy, yet still feeling unclear about their finances and unsure about what to do next.

Queue up episode
In this episode of Small Business Stories, Loralyn Mears, PhD, aka Dr. LL talks with Emil Abedian, founder and CEO of Counsel CPAs, about what happens when entrepreneurs stay trapped in compliance mode and never fully step into strategic financial leadership.

If people don't trust you…
If people don't trust you, they hesitate.
If they don't remember you, they move on.

Guest block
Emil Abedian is the founder and CEO of Counsel CPAs and the author of Counsel to Counsel. He works closely with solo and small law firms to help them move beyond tax prep and bookkeeping into stronger cash flow, profitability, and strategic decision-making.

Core Problems

• Founders treating the business like a job instead of an asset

• Revenue growth without enough profit clarity

• Missed financial signals that create avoidable stress and burnout

Practical Takeaways

• Use your numbers to guide decisions, not just satisfy compliance

• Watch for early warning signs before the business drifts off track

• Build financial support that helps you think, not just file

Timestamps

• 00:00 Intro and Emil's founder story

• 03:10 Why time with family changed his perspective

• 06:20 The writing of Counsel to Counsel

• 10:15 From compliance to strategic partnership

• 17:40 Why solo businesses need financial guidance early

Who This Episode Is For
Solo founders, small business owners, law firm leaders, and service-based entrepreneurs trying to grow with more clarity and less chaos

Invisible brands don't make money. And invisible financial patternsdrain momentum, confidence, and growth.

Subscribe/Share CTA
Subscribe, share, and send this episode to a founder who is working hard but still feeling financially foggy.

✅ Subscribe for weekly conversations on entrepreneurship

🔁 Share this episode with someone who needs to be heard

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Twitter: https://x.com/steerus_io

#cashflow #entrepreneurship #smallbusiness

Todd Belveal is a serial tech entrepreneur. He exited Silvercar, which he founded as one of the first connected car companies fully enabled by smart phones. His current venture, Washlava, brings tech to public laundromats - seemingly on a mission to put the quarter coin out of a job. He has some great advice for entrepreneurs.

Trung Tran is an exceptional serial entrepreneur. Not only has he raised millions and generated billions of dollars with his product ideas, but he also served as a Captain of the United States Air Force. His latest venture is Amplio.ai - an artificial intelligence wellness solution that creates your digital twin to track your emotional, mental, and physical health. The AI wellness solution assesses what is working for you - or not - and suggests how you should adjust your exercise, sleep, water intake, and so on, according to what is best for your body.

Andrea Iervolino, international filmmaker and founder of TaTaTu, a social media platform that rewards you for being entertained by up and coming talent, was our guest. He spoke about data privacy and his films which have included celebrity actors like Al Pacino, James Franco, and more.  

Meet Tracy Rookard, an army veteran and former US medic. This week's Grit Daily Like a Boss podcast guest trained to be a respiratory therapist, but then entered the field of information technology. Along the way, she developed eczema, an irritable skin condition aggravated by environmental conditions and stress. A fateful appointment with her dermatologist set her on her current course.

Meet Nadia Okhunova, co-founder of K917 media. Two is better than one, right? She's combining brands and linking efforts in NYC + Moscow for a new edge in marketing mash-ups. Nadia is also embracing the emerging future or work trend of polywork.

Dr. Tatiana Fofanova is the founder of Koda Health which is a digital solution enabling people, particularly the lower income and overlooked population, to walk through a simple set of questions designed to answer the tough questions around end-of-life decisions. These conversations aren't easy - but they need to happen so that people can have their advanced directives registered with their healthcare team and families.

Luciana Carvahlo is the VP of People and Performance at Movile, Latin America's largest tech investment group and accelerator. She's the engineer of The Movile Way, a culture-building methodology that has been taught to entrepreneurs at Harvard and Stanford universities for more than five years. She and her team created the Mobile Dream internship program to train and recruit young, bright and diverse talent for Movile's expanding portfolio of leading global technology companies.

You may think that you're "cleaning" your surfaces with bleach wipes ... but you may not realize that coverage and contact time (up to 5 min) may be required to disinfect the surface. Who knew?! Well, the three co-founders of Kinnos Inc knew. They saw an opportunity to tint bleach with a color-additive to make it easier to track what you cleaned. Katherine Jin, the company's Chief Technology Officer, joined the Like a Boss podcast to share her story as an entrepreneur and how she is operating beyond the prejudice and bias in society today.

It only took seven years for Erik Huberman to build an $80 million marketing company with 220 employees supporting more than 3,000 brands. Big brands, too, like Red Bull, Proactiv, and many others. In parallel, he's launched Hawke Ventures which funds interesting technology that Erik's clients can benefit from but his team doesn't have the time or expertise to build. It's a triple-win. Tune in to learn more!

Lynn Wood is the Chief Idea Spy at IdeaSpies. It's a tech platform for sharing good ideas and making them better. Students to seasoned entrepreneurs are invited to submit their ideas - in 100 words or less - and to mentor other entrepreneurs by offering constructive feedback. Lynn joins Loralyn to talk about innovation in society today.

S6:E26

Consumers want healthier food. But building those products is far more complex than most people realize.

In this episode of Small Business Stories, Dr. LL sits down with Kash Rocheleau, CEO of Icon Foods, to explore the intersection of food innovation, consumer behavior, and leadership.

If people don't trust you, they won't buy from you.
If consumers don't understand what's inside a product, they question everything about it.

Kash shares insights from inside the ingredient supply chain and explains how consumer trends, health movements, and industry innovation are reshaping the future of food.

Kash Rocheleau
CEO, Icon Foods
Food industry executive specializing in sugar reduction ingredients

• The technical challenge of reducing sugar in food products
• Confusion surrounding "clean label" and health claims
• Leading teams and companies through industry disruption

• Transparency builds stronger consumer trust
• Leadership requires both strategy and compassion
• Market trends often reveal deeper shifts in consumer priorities

02:30 What Icon Foods does in the ingredient supply chain
05:20 The rise of sugar reduction in consumer products
14:00 Why "clean label" terminology creates confusion
21:00 Building a growth mindset inside teams
27:00 Women in leadership and speaking with conviction

• Entrepreneurs building product-based businesses
• Leaders navigating fast-changing industries
• Consumers interested in food innovation

Invisible brands don't make money.
Invisible complexity creates misunderstanding.

Season 6 of Small Business Stories continues decoding the patterns that shape how businesses are seen, trusted, and understood.

Subscribe and share if this episode resonates.

✅ Subscribe for weekly conversations on entrepreneurship

🔁 Share this episode with someone who needs to be heard

Follow STEERus on social media:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DrLLSmallBusiness 

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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/steerus

Twitter: https://x.com/steerus_io

#food #healthyfood #sugar #entrepreneur #smallbusiness

Miriam Rivera is one of fewer than one percent of Stanford University graduates to be decorated with a Stanford Medal. She earned both her MBA and JD degrees there then went on to build one of the largest LatinX venture capital funds in the world. The fund hosts eight unicorns in its portfolio. Miriam founded the VC fund based on the thesis that diversity is more than trendy - it's profitable. The firm is now seeking to expand its executive leadership team. She now holds the role: CEO, Co-Founder and Managing Director Ulu Ventures.

Katie Ferraro is a tour de force! She is the founder of Fortified Family and wildly popular Baby-Led Weaning Made Easy Podcast. As a registered dietician with a specialty in infant feeding and an educator at University of California San Diego, you'd think that would be enough credibility. But there's more ... she gave birth to seven children within three years! A singleton, quadruplets, and then twins Her sister has twins, too so multi-births are common in her family. Having that many mouths to feed required smart planning and uber efficiency. Tune in to this episode to learn more or tune in to her podcast here: https://blwpodcast.com/

Consuelo Valverde is the founder and managing partner SV Latam Capital. She is the driving force behind making capital more accessible to more founders: "SV LatAm Capital partners early with extraordinary entrepreneurs that have the grit and ambition to transform societies, the environment, and health on a global scale. Whether you are a serial founder, a tech entrepreneur, or a scientist, we are here to help you build a breakthrough company, from the moment of inception."

https://www.svlatamcap.com/