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  • He Built a $10M Company With Zero Venture Capital

    He Built a $10M Company With Zero Venture Capital
    2026/06/26
    Everyone celebrates the startup that raises a huge round and grows at all costs. Bryan Clayton built the opposite. He took GreenPal, the Uber for lawn care, past 10 million dollars a year with zero venture capital, and he argues that raising too much money before you have it figured out is more likely to kill you than save you.

    Bryan is the CEO and cofounder of GreenPal. Before it he built a landscaping company to 8 figures and 150 employees and sold it. In this conversation with David Carr he is candid about what bootstrapping really demands, from cutting his own burn to under 4,000 dollars a month to getting belly to belly with his first hundred customers.

    He tells the story of the insight that saved the company. Coming from lawn care, he was sure customers only wanted the cheapest price. Then he talked to them and learned the real pain was the disappearing lawn guy. People wanted reliability, and would pay more for it. From there he gets practical: why scaling is a video game where you must play your level, how to find the one limiting factor holding you back, and how to build an antifragile business that improves when you step away.

    You will walk away rethinking what real, durable growth looks like.

    Connect with Bryan Clayton on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryan-clayton-a96b33214/
    GreenPal: https://www.yourgreenpal.com


    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/business-roundtable--6049255/support.

    Connect with Steward Your Business:

    • Book a Leadership Clarity Call: https://calendar.stewardyourbusiness.com/cc
    • Call: +1 909.404.9865
    • Website: https://stewardyourbusiness.com
    • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidwcarr
    Watch more episodes and subscribe on YouTube:
    https://www.youtube.com/@steward_your_business
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    41 分
  • You Don't Need a Number, You Need a Life

    You Don't Need a Number, You Need a Life
    2026/06/24
    How much money do you actually need? Most people answer with a number. Dr. Nicholas Michels says that is backwards. Don't start with a dollar amount. Start with the life you want, then let the money serve it.

    Nick is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER professional, founder of Michels Family Financial, and author of Rich by Choice. In this conversation with David Carr he gets honest about why so many people are outwardly successful and inwardly stressed, and how to close that gap.

    He has lived both sides. He grew up comfortable until his family went, almost overnight, from a stay at home mom of four to a single mom working three jobs. Years later he had built real wealth as a fast rising advisor and still felt his happiness lagging behind his bank account. The turning point was a hard conversation with his wife and the humility to seek mentors. From there he shares the comparison game and the rocking chair test, why happiness comes from the steps and not the destination, how to 10X your business through your unique ability, and a legacy lens that reframes what money is really for.

    You will walk away ready to design the life first and let the number follow.

    Connect with Dr. Nicholas Michels on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholas-e-michels
    Michels Family Financial: https://michelsfamilyfinancial.com
    Rich by Choice (free gift): https://richbychoicebook.com


    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/business-roundtable--6049255/support.

    Connect with Steward Your Business:

    • Book a Leadership Clarity Call: https://calendar.stewardyourbusiness.com/cc
    • Call: +1 909.404.9865
    • Website: https://stewardyourbusiness.com
    • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidwcarr
    Watch more episodes and subscribe on YouTube:
    https://www.youtube.com/@steward_your_business
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    46 分
  • Your Business Is 3 Decisions From Bankruptcy

    Your Business Is 3 Decisions From Bankruptcy
    2026/06/22
    Your business is growing. That does not mean it is stable. For a lot of founders, growth quietly hides the problems that will break the company later, and you do not see it until it snaps.

    Tracy Holland is a founder, investor, and operator who took HatchBeauty Brands from zero to 100 million dollars, then built a live selling business to 27 million in two years and sold it. She now buys distressed companies and rebuilds them, and she has worked with more than three thousand entrepreneurs.

    In this conversation with David Carr she names founderitis and its symptoms, lays out the three decisions that put a business near bankruptcy, and explains why revenue can climb while the company gets weaker. Then it gets practical: why most founders built a job instead of a business, how to move from operator to owner, and the one skill worth more than any technical talent, going deep into your customer's pain until you can describe it better than they can.

    You will walk away knowing what to look at first, and why if it is a money issue, it is not really an issue.

    Connect with Tracy Holland on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracyholland
    Tracy on Instagram: search Tracy M. Holland


    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/business-roundtable--6049255/support.

    Connect with Steward Your Business:

    • Book a Leadership Clarity Call: https://calendar.stewardyourbusiness.com/cc
    • Call: +1 909.404.9865
    • Website: https://stewardyourbusiness.com
    • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidwcarr
    Watch more episodes and subscribe on YouTube:
    https://www.youtube.com/@steward_your_business
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    49 分
  • Why Most Businesses Get AI Wrong

    Why Most Businesses Get AI Wrong
    2026/06/19
    Most owners buy the AI tool, skip the strategy, and wonder why nothing improves. Jason Alexander, CEO of Chief AI, explains why AI is a people and process problem, not a tool problem.

    Hand someone a guitar, and you still hear no music until you teach them to play. Jason has lived the operator side of this. Over 20 years, he built and scaled a staffing and consulting business to roughly 100 million dollars before selling, and now he helps founders turn AI into practical, measurable results.

    In this conversation with David Carr, he breaks down the three-year success roadmap he uses to determine where AI actually belongs, why "assess, one quick win, then scale" beats chasing silver bullets, and how to make AI part of your culture rather than hiding it from clients. He also gives a straight answer on the fear everyone carries: AI is a force multiplier, not a layoff plan. Arm 100 people to produce 400, rather than cutting headcount to save payroll.

    If you are a founder or leader trying to make AI pay off without losing what makes your business human, start here.

    Connect with Jason:
    ChiefAI: https://chiefai.co
    Jason Alexander on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonalexander
    Free AI Readiness Score: https://chiefai.co/ai-readiness-assessment/

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/business-roundtable--6049255/support.

    Connect with Steward Your Business:

    • Book a Leadership Clarity Call: https://calendar.stewardyourbusiness.com/cc
    • Call: +1 909.404.9865
    • Website: https://stewardyourbusiness.com
    • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidwcarr
    Watch more episodes and subscribe on YouTube:
    https://www.youtube.com/@steward_your_business
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    38 分
  • Why You Don't Do What You Know You Should

    Why You Don't Do What You Know You Should
    2026/06/17
    You can have the right strategy, the right team, and the right systems. But if you are running on empty, none of it performs the way it should. And most leaders already know what they should do. They just do not do it.

    Jalene Szuba is the founder of Happiness Anchor, a nationally board certified health and wellness coach, TEDx speaker, and Tulane University wellness consultant. In this conversation with David Carr she starts with sleep as a performance driver, not a lifestyle topic, then goes where most leadership talks never reach: why knowing better so rarely changes what we do.

    She unpacks the Immunity to Change framework from Robert Kegan and Lisa Lahey, the same process she uses in her coaching and in research at Tulane. You will hear how hidden commitments and big assumptions work against your goals, one foot on the gas and one on the brake, why small tests beat massive overhauls, and why a healthy culture has to start at the top. Underneath it all is the Steward Your Business idea that the biggest constraints on a leader are internal, and they will not fix themselves.

    You will walk away able to name the change you keep avoiding, and with a simple first step you can take tonight.

    Connect with Jalene Szuba on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaleneszuba/
    Happiness Anchor: https://www.happinessanchor.com


    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/business-roundtable--6049255/support.

    Connect with Steward Your Business:

    • Book a Leadership Clarity Call: https://calendar.stewardyourbusiness.com/cc
    • Call: +1 909.404.9865
    • Website: https://stewardyourbusiness.com
    • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidwcarr
    Watch more episodes and subscribe on YouTube:
    https://www.youtube.com/@steward_your_business
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    37 分
  • Leading With Purpose When Your World Turns to Ashes

    Leading With Purpose When Your World Turns to Ashes
    2026/06/12
    What do you do when your world turns to ashes? In one season, Elaine Lankford faced a yearlong attack on her character, lost her father, and watched her husband get a cancer diagnosis. Then, on a mission trip, she heard God whisper, "Go home and raise up my daughters."

    That whisper became She Steps Forward. Elaine is the founder of She Steps Forward Coaching and the nonprofit She Steps Forward International, and she spent over 16 years in nursing before coaching women into their callings. A certified John Maxwell Team member, she now mentors women through the hardest first years of building a business, ministry, or nonprofit, in the United States and across Africa.

    In this conversation, she and David Carr talk about leading with purpose through adversity, why a God-sized dream is supposed to feel bigger than you, and the confidence gap and comparison game that keep capable women stuck. She shares the picture of Mary and Elizabeth from Luke 1 that anchors her work: who is pouring into you before you step forward, and who are you pouring into? Running underneath it is the Steward Your Business conviction that leading yourself well is where everything starts.

    You will walk away with permission to dream bigger and a simple first step to take when you feel the pull toward something more.

    Connect with Elaine Lankford on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elaine-lankford/
    She Steps Forward Coaching: https://www.shestepsforwardcoaching.com
    She Steps Forward International: https://shestepsforwardinternational.org

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/business-roundtable--6049255/support.

    Connect with Steward Your Business:

    • Book a Leadership Clarity Call: https://calendar.stewardyourbusiness.com/cc
    • Call: +1 909.404.9865
    • Website: https://stewardyourbusiness.com
    • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidwcarr
    Watch more episodes and subscribe on YouTube:
    https://www.youtube.com/@steward_your_business
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    38 分
  • Why Your Business Can't Run Without You

    Why Your Business Can't Run Without You
    2026/06/02
    Most owners think they have a people problem, a time problem, or a strategy problem. Usually, it's none of those — the business is just built to keep everything flowing back to you.

    Carol Schultz, Founder & CEO of Vertical Elevation, has spent 30 years as a recruiter and executive coach, helping CEOs stop being "hostages" to their own companies. In this conversation, she unpacks founder's syndrome, why "just hire the right person" rarely works (hint: you're the common denominator), and the succession mindset that separates owners who scale from owners who stay stuck.

    She also walks through her Organizational Scaffold System — a roughly 12-week process that closes gaps in communication, accountability, and structure, and then places a chief of staff to act as the CEO's copilot. Plus, a simple pen-to-paper exercise you can start this week to see where your time really goes.

    Carol Schultz — author of "Powered By People," Inc., and CEOWORLD columnist, host of "Authentically Successful."
    Website: https://verticalelevation.com
    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolbschultz/

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/business-roundtable--6049255/support.

    Connect with Steward Your Business:

    • Book a Leadership Clarity Call: https://calendar.stewardyourbusiness.com/cc
    • Call: +1 909.404.9865
    • Website: https://stewardyourbusiness.com
    • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidwcarr
    Watch more episodes and subscribe on YouTube:
    https://www.youtube.com/@steward_your_business
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    40 分