Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur | Start and Grow Your Own Business

In a world where change is the only constant, how can you build a business that doesn't just survive, but thrives? In this powerful episode, Brian sits down with Cassandra Kiger, the CEO of Consulting for Resilience, to decode the human side of business transformation. Cassandra reveals that every change, from a new email system to a full-scale pivot, triggers a grief cycle in your team—and ignoring it is a recipe for failure. This episode is a masterclass in leading with empathy, creativity, and strategic foresight. For any entrepreneur tired of fighting resistance and ready to build a truly adaptable organization, Cassandra’s insights on change management, creative problem-solving, and leading through fear are pure gold.
💡 What You'll Take Away For YOUR Business
🧠 The Grief Cycle in Business: Discover why even positive changes can cause your team to react with anger and resistance, and learn how to manage this universal human response.
LEGO® Leadership: Steal Cassandra’s creative strategy for turning data collection from a chore into an engaging, team-building game that aligns everyone with company goals.
🔨 The Immigrant Innovator Mindset: Learn why diverse life experiences are your greatest asset for creative problem-solving and how to find a "hammer" when all you have is a nail.
😱 Fear is Not Your CEO: Uncover why fear is the most destructive emotion in business and get a practical framework for leading your team through uncertainty without letting fear call the shots.
🗣️ The Power of Over-Communication: Understand why clear, constant communication is your best tool for building resilience and turning a fearful team into a proactive one.
🌱 From Planning to Preparing: Shift your mindset from simply creating static plans to actively preparing your business to be agile, adaptable, and ready for any future challenge.
📝 About Cassandra Kiger
Cassandra Kiger is the CEO of Consulting for Resilience, where she specializes in change management, cross-cultural communication, and equity-centered design. With a unique background that blends a Master of Social Work with an international law degree, she brings a deeply human-centric yet data-driven approach to organizational challenges. Cassandra has over a decade of experience helping government, nonprofit, and community organizations build systems that are sustainable, accessible, and resilient by design. Her philosophy is built on the belief that when you empower your people, your business can withstand any storm.
🎯 Cassandra’s BEST Piece of Advice for Wantrepreneurs and Entrepreneurs
"Don't quit, rest. Don't plan, prepare. Don't produce, strategize. Because change is inevitable, but resilience is intentional."
📢 Memorable Quotes
"The question isn't whether change will come, it's what you do when it does." – Cassandra Kiger
"If you're a people leader, your job isn't whatever your output is. Your job is getting people to do their roles really well and feel supported and feel engaged and feel like they understand their role in it." – Cassandra Kiger
"The number one emotion that shuts us down as humans and makes us really terrible decision makers and really poor at cooperation and communication is fear." – Cassandra Kiger
💡 Actionable Takeaways
✅ Acknowledge the Grief Cycle: The next time you implement a change (even a small one), openly check in with your team about how they’re feeling about it. Acknowledge that frustration is a normal part of the process.
✅ Gamify a Boring Task: Identify one tedious but necessary task in your business. Brainstorm a creative, fun way to get your team engaged with it, just like Cassandra’s Lego city project.
✅ Practice Responding to Fear: When you feel fear about a business decision or market trend, pause. Instead of reacting, choose to over-communicate with your team or mentor to find a strategic path forward.
✅ Schedule Strategic Rest: Block out time on your calendar this month specifically for "strategic rest"—time to disconnect and recharge, not just to stop working.
🔗 Links & Resources
Website: https://consultingforresilience.com/
Connect with Cassandra on LinkedIn
Follow Consulting for Resilience on LinkedIn

Tired of sifting through hundreds of applications only to feel like you’re searching for a needle in a haystack? In this episode, Riaan Janse van Rensburg, a two-decade veteran in labor management and data analytics, pulls back the curtain on the broken hiring process and reveals how to fix it. He shares the entrepreneurial journey behind his company, TalentHubiQ, a game-changing service that uses a powerful blend of AI and human oversight to ensure no qualified candidate is ever missed again. For any entrepreneur who knows that hiring the right people is the single most important key to success, this episode is a masterclass in building a world-class team, saving thousands on hiring costs, and leveraging technology to make smarter, faster, and fairer decisions.
💡 What You'll Take Away For YOUR Business
🤖 How to strategically blend AI with human expertise to create a service that’s faster and more accurate than the competition.
💰 The secret to building a retention predictor that can save your business hundreds of thousands of dollars by avoiding bad hires.
🚀 Why the best candidate for your open role is already in your applicant pool over 60% of the time (and the system to find them).
📈 How to turn deep industry experience into a scalable, tech-enabled managed service that solves a massive market pain point.
🤝 A new model for building an incredible employer brand by guaranteeing every single applicant gets a fair look.
🎯 Why speed to market is the ultimate competitive advantage in talent acquisition and how you can achieve it.
📝 About Riaan Janse van Rensburg 
Riaan Janse van Rensburg has spent nearly two decades mastering contract labor management and data analytics. At his core, he is a data analyst who loves identifying trends and using data points to drive better decisions. This passion led him to found TalentHubiQ, a candidate intelligence platform designed to solve the chaos of high-volume hiring for US companies. Riaan’s unique approach combines his deep recruiting experience with smart technology, ensuring every candidate is seen through the same compliant and unbiased lens, transforming the hiring process from a game of chance into a science.
🎯 Riaan’s BEST Piece of Advice for Wantrepreneurs and Entrepreneurs
"When it gets really hard, just remember that it's a blessing to have problems to solve because it's making you better, it's making you smarter, and it's making you more capable."
📢 Memorable Quotes
"I can unequivocally tell you that AI will never replace recruiters... AI is teaching us to be diligent. It's one of the skills that we are acquiring by force because now we are learning that it's not perfect and we need to review all its answers." – Riaan Janse van Rensburg
"The truth of the matter is no human being can look at 500 resumes... consistently and look at every single person through the same lens. And then say, these are the best folks." – Riaan Janse van Rensburg
"If you are really good at interviewing and applying for jobs, that means you're not really working as much." – Riaan Janse van Rensburg
💡 Actionable Takeaways
✅ Embrace AI as a tool for diligence. Use it to handle mundane tasks so you can spend more time on high-value work, but always review its output to ensure accuracy.
✅ Audit your current hiring process. Before you spend a dollar on external recruiters, commit to thoroughly reviewing your inbound applicant pool first—your next great hire is likely already there.
✅ Re-evaluate your job descriptions to ensure they are EEOC compliant and written to attract the widest possible pool of qualified talent.
✅ When you face a difficult business challenge, consciously reframe it as a "blessing" that is providing you with a unique opportunity for growth and learning.
🔗 Links & Resources
Website: https://www.talenthubiq.com/
Connect with Riaan on LinkedIn
Follow TalentHubiQ on LinkedIn

Tired of the startup grind? This episode offers a powerful alternative: buying an already successful business. Mark Fleming, a former Wall Street investor and owner of over 20 businesses, shatters the myth that you need massive capital to become a business owner. He reveals the exact strategies to acquire profitable companies with as little as 5% down using SBA loans and seller financing. This is a must-listen for anyone who wants to bypass the riskiest phase of entrepreneurship and step directly into a cash-flowing operation. Mark’s unique partnership model and cross-industry insights provide a tangible roadmap for building your own business empire.
💡 What You'll Take Away For YOUR Business
🚀 How to buy a profitable business with as little as 5% down using SBA loans and seller financing.
📈 Why healthy, cash-flowing companies are the real targets for acquisition (not just failing businesses).
🤝 The unique partnership model that allows operators to focus on customers and employees while the back office is handled for them.
🧠 How to leverage cross-industry insights to create synergies and competitive advantages within a business portfolio.
🤖 The new, low-competition marketing frontier: why optimizing for AI engines is beating traditional SEO and Meta ads for local businesses.
📋 A framework for deciding what type of business to buy based on your unique experience and ability to lead.
💪 The critical role of "grit" and why it's the non-negotiable trait for any successful entrepreneur.
📝 About Mark Fleming
Mark Fleming is the co-founder and president of Owner Actions, Inc., a company dedicated to helping people acquire successful small businesses. With a background on Wall Street trading desks, in equity research, and private equity, Mark brings a sophisticated financial lens to Main Street business. He's not just a theorist; Mark is a hands-on owner in over 20 businesses—from construction and restaurants to transportation—using a unique model that partners with day-to-day operators to ensure success.
🎯 Mark’s BEST Piece of Advice for Wantrepreneurs and Entrepreneurs
“You're gonna get punched in the mouth over and over and over again... and really successful people just push through that and grind through.”
📢 Memorable Quotes
 “The more the person that owns a business is focused on customers and employees, the better the business is going to do.” – Mark Fleming
“You see most successful entrepreneurs are just people that can get punched in the face over and over and over again and keep going.” – Mark Fleming
“When the person's selling the business, they want to sell it to the person they want to take over their legacy, and they're not going to sell it to just anyone.” – Mark Fleming
💡 Actionable Takeaways
✅ Explore BizBuySell.com and BizQuest.com to see what businesses are for sale in your area, focusing on industries where you have experience.
✅ Start building your "CEO pitch" – practice articulating why your background makes you the perfect person to take over a specific type of business.
✅ Investigate your local business marketing. Is it optimized for AI search engines like Perplexity or ChatGPT? This is a huge opportunity Mark identified.
✅ If you're considering buying a business, look into the SBA 7(a) loan program and understand the requirements, including the 680+ credit score.
🔗 Links & Resources
Website: https://www.owneractions.com/
Connect with Mark on LinkedIn
Follow Owner Actions on LinkedIn
Follow Owner Actions on TikTok
Follow Owner Actions on YouTube
Follow Owner Actions on Instagram

In a world obsessed with global scale, Matt Spitz champions the power of local impact. This episode peels back the curtain on how Matt, a former All-American athlete, built a community media company, Plain City Living, by focusing on what matters most: people. He shares how his identity as a husband, father, and man of faith is not separate from his business, but the very foundation of its success. This conversation is a masterclass for any entrepreneur who wants to build a profitable business that also strengthens their community and aligns with their deepest values. You'll learn why "relational equity" is more valuable than financial capital and how to build a business that leaves a lasting legacy.
💡 What You'll Take Away For YOUR Business
How to spot and fill a profitable void in your own local community.
Why "relational equity" is your most valuable business asset and practical ways to start building it today.
How to leverage your personal background and life experiences (like sports) to build a powerful and authentic brand.
The "Optimal Environment" Framework: A powerful method to reverse-engineer your biggest goals for your business, family, and life.
How to balance macro-impact (like a community-wide business) with micro-impact (like a local leadership group) for a more fulfilling entrepreneurial journey.
Why putting the "person" before the "professional" is the key to building trust and connection in an AI-driven world.
📝 About Matt Spitz
Matt Spitz is the founder and publisher of Plain City Living, a community media company that strengthens local bonds, and the pioneering chapter director for All Pro Dad in Ohio. A former collegiate All-American and Hall of Fame athlete, Matt has translated the lessons of teamwork, discipline, and leadership from the football field to the world of entrepreneurship. His work sits at the powerful intersection of faith, family, and local impact, driven by the core belief that our most important leadership roles begin at home.
🎯 Matt’s BEST Piece of Advice for Wantrepreneurs and Entrepreneurs
"There's so much more going on in your life and in your family and in your community above and beyond just your business."
📢 Memorable Quotes
"Business is going to move at the speed of trust. And how do you build that trust? ...reverse engineer it all the way back to a one-on-one relationship." – Matt Spitz
"What is your optimal environment? ...Start with the end in mind and work backwards to where you are." – Matt Spitz
"Our life is a vapor... For me, that means create and cultivate relational equity, date my wife, usher my kids into adulthood, and really try to pour my life out and impact community as best I can." – Matt Spitz
💡 Actionable Takeaways
Identify a gap in your own local community. What service, platform, or connection point is missing that you could provide?
Start practicing "relational deposits." Reach out to 3 people in your network this week simply to celebrate them (like on a birthday) or ask a specific question about something important in their life.
Define the "optimal environment" for one area of your life (business, family, health) and identify the very first step you can take to start working backward from that vision.
Stop hiding the person behind the business. Share one aspect of your personal story or values on your social media or in your next newsletter to build a more authentic connection.
🔗 Links & Resources
Website: https://www.bestversionmedia.com/oh/plaincityliving/
Connect with Matt on LinkedIn
Follow Plain City Living - Best Version Media on LinkedIn
Follow Plain City Living - Best Version Media on Facebook
Follow Plain City Living - Best Version Media on Instagram

Do you ever find yourself mapping out complex marketing funnels, intricate automations, or the "final version" of your product before you've even made your first sale? In a world of powerful tools and AI, the temptation to build sophisticated systems from day one is stronger than ever. But as Brian learned the hard way in his first agency, this approach often leads to burnout and stagnation, not scale. In this Solo Sunday episode, Brian dives into a powerful concept from 1975 that is more relevant than ever: Gall's Law. He breaks down why every complex system that actually works must evolve from a simple system that works first. This isn't about thinking small; it's about building a solid, proven foundation that allows you to earn your complexity and scale sustainably.
✨ Why This Matters for You 
Gall's Law is the permission slip you need to start simple and get moving:
It frees you from the pressure of building the “perfect” scalable system from the start.
It saves you time and money by preventing you from over-engineering solutions for problems you don't fully understand yet.
It provides a clear, 6-stage roadmap for evolving a manual process into a truly scalable system.
It helps you discover crucial insights by doing things the “stupidly simple” way first — lessons that automation would hide from you.
It’s the antidote to analysis paralysis, proving that momentum comes from simple, repeatable actions, not complex planning.
📝 Key Takeaways
Embrace Gall's Law. A complex system that works is invariably found to have evolved from a simple system that worked. You cannot skip the simple stage.
Simple First, Then Complex. Don't try to build the fifth version of your system before you've proven the first, manual version. Your goal is to prove you can get the result, then repeat it.
Manual Work Is Market Research. By doing things manually, you learn the nuances, obstacles, and questions that are critical for designing an effective automated system later.
Complexity Is Earned. Sophisticated systems in successful companies earned the right to exist through evolution. They started simple.
Follow the Progression. Before you can scale, you must prove you can: 1) get the result yourself, 2) repeat it, 3) document the process, and 4) have someone else execute it. Only then should you introduce automation and scale.
🚀 Put It Into Action
This week, take a look at one area of your business where you're trying to build something complex (a marketing funnel, an onboarding sequence, a new service delivery process).
Ask yourself: Have I successfully and repeatedly executed the simplest, most manual version of this?
Strip away all the automations and fancy tech for a moment. What is the core V1 of this process?
Commit to running that simple, manual version this week. Document every step, every question, and every friction point. You’re not just getting work done; you’re gathering the critical data needed to build V2.
🔗 Stay Connected
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