But what if that “stable” corporate job is just a story you’ve been telling yourself?

In this episode, Eric Kurschat shares the real journey behind leaving a 16-year HR career to build a DISC-based consulting business—and what he learned about risk, identity, and growth along the way.

We unpack:

• Why imposter syndrome is actually a transition phase (not a weakness)
• The hidden myth of job security—and how it keeps people stuck
• How introverts can design business development on their own terms
• The difference between being good at something… and being truly energized by it

If you’ve ever felt the pull toward something more—but hesitated—this conversation will challenge how you define “safe.”

Follow + review the show if this shifted your thinking.

In this episode, we unpack how financial insight becomes a strategic advantage when you stop treating bookkeeping as a task—and start using it as a decision-making tool.

Michelle Scribner (Sum or All Numbers) shares how her firm evolved into a fractional CFO model, helping business owners understand what their numbers actually mean—and what to do next.

We also dive into why cash flow anxiety keeps owners up at night, how EOS creates real team accountability, and the overlooked truth about buy-in: people don’t commit to ideas—they commit to metrics they own.

If your team feels disconnected, your growth feels stalled, or your decisions feel reactive… this episode will reset how you think about leadership and numbers.

Follow + review the show if this changed how you see your business.

But what if that advice is quietly sabotaging your chances of long-term success?

In this episode, we break down a radically different approach to building a business—one rooted in patience, profitability, and precision. Instead of chasing fast growth, you’ll learn how to create stability first… and scale from there.

We explore how keeping a full-time job can actually accelerate your business, why avoiding debt gives you a strategic edge, and how niching down creates authority faster than broad appeal ever could.

If you’re building (or thinking about building) a service-based business, this conversation will challenge your assumptions—and give you a more sustainable path forward.

Follow + review the show if this shifts how you think about growth.

Well… almost no one.

Year one: 20 attendees.

Year two: 6.

In an industry where studio owners were taught to compete, stay silent about struggles, and protect their “perfect” image, he made a radical decision: create a room where they could talk about business, burnout, jealousy, and growth.

It was unheard of.

What followed reshaped how dance entrepreneurs think about leadership, collaboration, and success.

In this episode, he shares:

1. Why isolation was quietly destroying studio owners
2. The moment two competitors shook hands in the same room
3. Why he refuses to promise “36 students in 30 days”
4. His discomfort with private equity buyouts in creative industries
5. The difference between scaling for ego vs. serving with purpose
6. And what “enough” really means in business

This isn’t a conversation about growth hacks.

It’s about building something that lasts — without losing your soul.

The business you built for freedom… can quietly become your prison.

In this episode, Patrick Burnell, founder of Soul Search Energy, shares the pivotal decision that changed everything — downsizing his fast-growing recruitment firm back to a team of one.

After scaling to six employees, predictable revenue, and market momentum, Patrick realized something was wrong. The business was growing. But so was the stress, exhaustion, and disconnection from the work he loved.

We unpack:

1. The hidden cost of scaling too fast
2. Why “more revenue” isn’t always better
3. How burnout creeps in unnoticed
4. The strategic power of intentional downsizing
5. Why rest is not weakness — it’s leverage

If you’re building a business and feeling stretched thin, this conversation will hit home.

Growth isn’t about size. It’s about alignment.

Follow + review the show if this episode resonates.

Massive pulmonary embolism. Nearly died.

And all he could think about wasn’t legacy — it was the mess he’d leave behind.

An IRS lien. $187,000 hidden from his wife. A business that would die the moment he did.

In this episode, Lyn Askin shares the brutally honest story of how building a “successful” marketing agency nearly cost him everything — and the framework that transformed his company from owner-dependent chaos into a scalable, sellable asset.

We unpack:

1. Why most entrepreneurs accidentally build jobs, not businesses
2. The hidden cost of operating without structure
3. How implementing a business operating system created clarity, profit, and freedom
4. What it really takes to remove yourself from day-to-day operations

If you’re a studio owner feeling stretched thin, stressed, or stuck in survival mode — this conversation will hit home.

Because freedom isn’t revenue.

It’s control.

Follow + review the show if this episode shifted something for you.

Drew Larison built Five Door Media with bold ideas, big swings, and a visionary mindset. But for the first five years, he was running fast — without structure.

Then came the decision that changed everything:

Asking his wife Erin to leave her stable nonprofit job — complete with health insurance and free childcare — to go all in on the business.

It wasn’t just a financial risk.

It was a marriage risk.

A culture risk.

A leadership risk.

In this episode, Drew breaks down:

1. Why visionary founders eventually hit a ceiling
2. What really happens when your spouse becomes your business partner
3. How they used marriage counseling to prepare for working together
4. The emotional weight of employee resignations
5. Why EOS forced them to grow up as leaders
6. And how structure unlocked the next level of scale

If you're building something meaningful — and feeling the tension between freedom and structure — this episode is your roadmap.

Because sometimes the best decisions are the ones that scare you the most.

In this first episode of Best Decision Ever, Bryce Conlan shares the story behind founding Dance Motion Marketing — now the world’s leading marketing agency for dance studios.

But this didn’t start with success. It started with a failed partnership, $41,000 in high-interest credit card debt, losing a $300,000 client, team fallout, and deep burnout during the pandemic.

Then came a question that changed everything: How much are you willing to commit for the next 90 days?

This episode is about partnership risk, founder scar tissue, niche marketing strategy, and why sometimes your mastermind is wrong.

If you’re a dance studio owner, entrepreneur, or founder navigating a hard season — this conversation will challenge how you think about risk, trust, and long-term leverage.

Follow + review the show if this resonates.