Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur | Start and Grow Your Own Business

Ever feel like you have a story to tell but don't know where to start or why it even matters for your business? In this powerful episode, Brian sits down with novelist and co-founder of the Experience Writing Conference, Janice Buswell, to uncover why your unique story is your single greatest asset as an entrepreneur. Janice demystifies the writing process, revealing how embracing your personal journey can build an unshakeable brand, connect deeply with customers, and give you the confidence to lead. This episode isn't just for aspiring authors; it’s a masterclass for any entrepreneur who wants to build a business with purpose, passion, and a powerful message that resonates with the world.
💡 What You'll Take Away For YOUR Business
🚀 Why storytelling is the primary way humans learn and how you can leverage it to communicate your business values and vision effectively.
🎯 How to overcome the imposter syndrome that stops you from sharing your message and step into your identity as a leader in your niche.
🤝 The art of using relationships to build your business, from finding your first supporters to meeting the perfect mentors and partners.
💡 A powerful exercise to map out your own "life story" to uncover the unique themes and wisdom you can weave into your brand.
🗣️ How to find your unique voice not by waiting for inspiration, but through the process of taking action and sharing your ideas.
🤖 The right way to use AI as a tool for efficiency without letting it short-circuit the discovery of your authentic message and voice.
📝 About Janice Buswell
Janice Buswell is a multi-talented communicator, speaker, novelist, and blogger who is passionate about helping people tell the stories on their hearts. As the co-founder of the Experience Writing Conference, she has created a community designed to help writers discover their God-given voice and navigate the publishing process without losing their uniqueness. With a diverse background that includes working for a tech startup and as a communications director, Janice brings a powerful perspective on how the art of storytelling intersects with the practical journey of building something from the ground up.
🎯 Janice’s BEST Piece of Advice for Wantrepreneurs and Entrepreneurs
"It's really all about relationships... Don't let [other tasks] squeeze out the need to develop relationships, especially key relationships... taking the time to really connect with people wherever you go, I think is really important to the growth of any organization or any entrepreneur."
📢 Memorable Quotes
“The world actually needs that they need what's in you. That's why you're here on the earth is because there's something in you that the world needs.” – Janice Buswell
“The way you discover your voice is actually through writing... the process is what teaches you.” – Janice Buswell
“There may be a million kinds of versions of this kind of story, but no one will say it the way you said it. And the way you said it is the way that someone else needs to hear it.” – Janice Buswell
🔗 Links & Resources
Visit Experience Writing’s website
Connect with Janice on LinkedIn
Follow Experience Writing on LinkedIn

In a world buzzing with AI fear and confusion, how can you, as an entrepreneur, actually use it as a force for good? Elliott Godwin, founder of EG Integrations, joins the show to demystify AI and automation, showing us how technology can amplify human potential instead of replacing it. He shares his unique journey from a life of service to leading a fast-growing tech company that serves both enterprise clients and nonprofits. This episode is a masterclass for any entrepreneur looking to integrate technology not just for efficiency, but to deepen their impact, serve their community, and build a more meaningful, scalable business.
💡 What You'll Take Away For YOUR Business
🤖 AI as an Amplifier, Not a Replacement: Discover the mindset shift needed to see AI as a tool that frees up humans to do what they do best: be creative, build relationships, and lead with passion.
🚀 The "Systems Architect" Approach: Learn how to look at your own business, identify the core problems and inefficiencies, and devise tech-driven solutions—which aren't always AI.
📈 Why Tech Integration Leads to Team Growth: Hear a counterintuitive take on how automating processes can actually create more opportunities for human capital and lead to hiring more people.
🤝 Balancing Profit and Purpose: Uncover a powerful business model that uses profits from corporate work to fund heavily discounted or pro-bono services for nonprofits, allowing you to scale your impact alongside your revenue.
🧠 Overcoming "You Don't Know What You Don't Know": Get practical tips on using free tools like ChatGPT’s voice feature to brainstorm solutions to business challenges you can't even articulate yet.
🌐 The Power of Being a Generalist: Learn why, in the age of AI, having broad knowledge across different industries can be a massive competitive advantage over niching down.
📝 About Elliott Godwin 
Elliott Godwin is the founder and CEO of EG Integrations, a company dedicated to building intelligent automation and software solutions that make organizations more efficient and effective. Inspired by his parents' life of service, Elliott blends business excellence with a genuine passion for impact. His unique perspective is shaped by a desire to bring transformative, enterprise-level technology to organizations of all sizes, especially nonprofits that are often left behind.
🎯 Elliott’s BEST Piece of Advice for Wantrepreneurs and Entrepreneurs 
"When you see something new come out, don't just watch it idly and be like, 'hey, that's awesome.' Dive into it, figure out how it works, figure out how to use it, figure out what other people are doing with it… and just stay learning, stay curious."
📢 Memorable Quotes
“Let's free up the human side of things to do what humans are best at, and that's being creative and having passion, having a soul, having fervor for whatever it is they're focused on.” – Elliott Godwin
"All these people are creating these tools, but no one's showing people how to use them... Let us show you how to get them to work for you." – Elliott Godwin
“I can't automate a friendship. I can't automate, 'Hey, explain to me your passion for your company and let's figure out how to make it better.'” – Elliott Godwin
🔗 Links & Resources
Visit EG Integrations’ website
Connect with Elliott on LinkedIn
Follow EG Integrations on LinkedIn

Ever had a customer service experience so bad it made you rethink your own business from the ground up? That’s exactly what happened to Brian this week. In this Solo Sunday episode, he shares the story of a frustrating plumbing fiasco that led to a massive “aha” moment about the difference between customer service and the entire customer experience. Brian reveals how he used a simple call recording and ChatGPT to uncover the hidden friction points most businesses miss—from misaligned website promises to frustrating hold music. This isn’t just a rant; it’s a masterclass in using AI as an objective third party to audit your whole client journey and find your biggest opportunities for growth.
✨ Why This Matters for You
Understanding your true customer experience is a competitive advantage:
It’s about seeing your business through your customer’s eyes, not just your own.
It uncovers the hidden frustrations that customers feel but never tell you about.
It allows you to turn every touchpoint—website copy, emails, calls—into a cohesive, trust-building experience.
It’s a way to leverage AI to get unbiased, actionable feedback that is more honest than asking a client directly.
It’s how small businesses can create a superior experience that even large companies with more resources fail to deliver.
📝 Key Takeaways
Customer Experience > Customer Service. Service is just one interaction; experience is the sum of every single touchpoint, from the first time they see your website to the final follow-up.
AI is Your Unbiased Auditor. Tools like ChatGPT can analyze your communications and processes from a customer’s perspective, revealing blind spots you’re too close to see.
Your Promises Set Expectations. The copy on your website, your guarantees, and your sales pitches are constantly shaping your client's expectations. You have to ensure the delivery matches the promise.
Proactive Communication Wins. Don't wait for a client to ask for an update. Be the one to reach out first, even if it’s just to say there are no new updates. It builds immense trust.
Capture the Full Context. To get a true analysis, you need to provide AI with the full picture: call transcripts, email chains, website screenshots, text messages, and project timelines.
🚀 Put It Into Action
This week, conduct your own AI Customer Experience Audit:
Pick one recent client or customer project.
Gather all the data: Screenshot the website pages they saw, compile all email correspondence, grab any call transcripts or notes, and include any text messages.
Feed it all into an AI tool like ChatGPT with a prompt like: "You are an unbiased customer. Based on all this information, analyze my entire customer experience. Point out areas of friction, misaligned expectations, and opportunities where I could have created a better experience."
Review the feedback and identify one or two simple changes you can implement immediately to improve your process for the next client.
🔗 Stay Connected
Subscribe to the show so you never miss an episode
Connect with Brian on Instagram @imetbrian
Share this episode with a fellow entrepreneur who wants to build an unforgettable customer experience

In this powerful episode, Brian sits down with Kat Rogers, a former film producer and financial advisor who transformed her most painful life experience into a thriving business. Kat shares her raw and honest journey of being penalized in the corporate world for becoming a mother, and how that rejection fueled her to create Mariposa Mastermind, a supportive community for ambitious working moms. This episode is a masterclass in turning personal struggle into a purpose-driven venture, embracing the "and" mindset to build a life on your own terms, and the incredible power of trusting your own capabilities. Kat’s story is a must-listen for any entrepreneur who has ever felt "unsortable" and is ready to pave their own path.
💡 What You'll Take Away For YOUR Business
🚀 How to identify your biggest personal pain point and transform it into a scalable business idea that serves a real need.
🦋 Why embracing an "and" mindset (e.g., being a mom AND a CEO) is crucial for building a sustainable business that aligns with your whole identity.
📈 The power of taking small, consistent "baby steps" instead of one giant leap to build momentum and skills on your entrepreneurial journey.
🗣️ How to craft authentic messaging that connects with an audience in pain, even when it’s a marketing challenge.
💪 A framework for rebuilding your identity and confidence after a major professional setback to come back stronger than ever.
🧠 Why scratching your own itch is one of the most effective ways to find a gap in the market and create a solution people desperately need.
📝 About Kat Rogers
Kat Rogers is a business coach, founder of Mariposa Mastermind, and a fierce advocate for working mothers. With a diverse background as a film producer and financial advisor, she brings a unique blend of storytelling, strategy, and empathy to her work. After experiencing firsthand how the corporate world penalizes motherhood, Kat dedicated herself to creating the supportive space she wished she had. She now helps ambitious women navigate the "messy middle" of motherhood and leadership, empowering them to reclaim their identity, joy, and strength without shame.
🎯 Kat’s BEST Piece of Advice for Wantrepreneurs and Entrepreneurs
"Trust yourself. You are fully capable... you understand so much more than you give yourself credit for... screw everybody else's expectation... You're amazing. Trust in yourself and trust in you."
📢 Memorable Quotes
"I refused to live my life according to someone else's expectations because they will always be less than what I can deliver and they will always be more limited than what I'm capable of." – Kat Rogers
"Doing the most feminine thing possible was punishable. So a part of my identity what I was now embracing was no longer good enough to be seen in the business world." – Kat Rogers
"You don't have to run a department to be a leader. You are guiding your family, your children, to learn how to make decisions for themselves." – Kat Rogers
🔗 Links & Resources
Visit Mariposa Mastermind’s website
Connect with Kat on LinkedIn
Follow Mariposa Mastermind on LinkedIn
Follow Kat on Instagram

Ever feel like you’re being priced out of the market by enterprise-level giants with bottomless ad budgets? This episode is your playbook for leveling the playing field. Constantin Cornita, an engineer who found his calling in marketing, reveals how small businesses can use Google Ads to not just compete, but win in their local markets. He dismantles the myth that Google Ads is only for big spenders, showing how a technical, data-driven approach focused on revenue—not vanity metrics—can generate massive returns. This episode is packed with tactical advice on leveraging localization, understanding user intent, and optimizing the entire customer journey from click to cash, proving that the smartest, not the richest, wins the advertising game.
💡 What You'll Take Away For YOUR Business
How to make Google Ads profitable, not expensive, by focusing on revenue generation instead of vanity metrics like clicks and impressions.
The secret to outranking giant competitors by leveraging hyper-local keywords, ad copy, and landing pages to achieve a higher Quality Score.
Why understanding cultural differences in user behavior (e.g., online booking vs. phone calls) is critical for converting leads across different markets.
A breakdown of keyword strategies, including broad, phrase, exact, and negative keywords, to ensure you’re only attracting customers with high buying intent.
How to use AI not just for ad creation, but to analyze sales calls and provide actionable feedback to your team, plugging revenue leaks in your sales process.
The critical importance of conversion tracking and why running ads without it is like flying blind and wasting your marketing budget.
📝 About Constantin Cornita
Constantin Cornita is a marketing expert with the mind of an engineer. Hailing from Moldova, an under-the-radar IT hub, he merged his technical background with his passion for marketing by mastering the data-driven world of Google Ads. He honed his skills helping a pioneer in the equipment rental industry expand across Europe, learning firsthand how user behavior and marketing strategies must adapt to different cultures. Now, with his agency Activesales, Constantin brings his technical, revenue-first approach to the US market, building systems that bridge the gap between ad data and real business results.
🎯 Constantin’s BEST Piece of Advice for Wantrepreneurs and Entrepreneurs
"Call your front desk. Call your company, pick up the phone, call them, pretend you are a customer and see how they respond to you."
📢 Memorable Quotes
“If you spend a thousand dollars on Google Ads and it generates you double, triple, or five times that amount of money, it’s not expensive anymore. If you spend even a hundred dollars and it generates you nothing, then it’s expensive.” – Constantin Cornita
“We see a lot of agencies focusing on traffic. When you see those reports that say, ‘last month we generated you 2,000 clicks’... what? Your rental company, you don't sell clicks. Google sells clicks. You sell your rental equipment.” – Constantin Cornita
“The ones that are rejecting AI, they are losing it.” – Constantin Cornita
🔗 Links & Resources
Visit Activesales’ website
Connect with Constantin on LinkedIn
Follow Activesales on LinkedIn