In this episode of No Suits Allowed, host Connor Rodich sits down with Patrick Carr, founder and CEO of Blue Collar Media Group, for an unfiltered conversation about entrepreneurship, resilience, and the real cost of building a business from nothing.

Patrick's story is one of incredible determination - from facing home foreclosure and living in a $1,000/month motel to building a debt-free media company that serves contractors nationwide.

This isn't your typical success story; it's a raw, honest look at what it takes to survive and thrive as an entrepreneur when everything is on the line.

Get ready for an authentic conversation about failure, pain, persistence, and the mindset shifts that separate those who give up from those who break through.

Key Topics Covered:

• Patrick's dramatic fall from a failing funding company that left him $50K in debt and facing foreclosure
• The moment his car broke down on I-95 while heading to his first client meeting with no money for repairs
• How he started Blue Collar Media Group with just a cell phone and YouTube tutorials
• Taking out a $90K loan with $70K in interest and $1,850 weekly payments
• The mindset shift from "trying to be someone else on camera" to authentic leadership
• Balancing entrepreneurship with personal relationships without burdening your partner
• The difference between physical mistakes and effort mistakes in business
• Why "it's okay to fail, but it's not okay to give up"

Powerful Quotes:

• "Entrepreneurship is a lot like hitting a piñata. You don't know how close you are to achieving what you want."
• "It's okay to fail, but it's not okay to give up on yourself."
• "As men, we sometimes take what we do at the business home, and our partners want to look at us as providers."
• "I accept physical mistakes here. What I don't accept is effort mistakes where you just didn't get in position."

Key Takeaways:

• The importance of taking a shot on yourself when nobody else will
• How authenticity beats trying to be someone you're not
• The power of communicating with your team and partner about difficult seasons
• Why pain and wasted potential can become powerful motivators
• The value of leading from the front and experiencing what your team goes through

• Website: https://bluecollarmediagroup.com/

In the inaugural episode of No Suits Allowed: Real Talk with Real Executives, host Connor Rodich sits down with his VP of Executive Partners, Mikaela Freeman, for an unfiltered look at his entrepreneurial journey. Connor pulls no punches as he shares the real story behind building, losing, and rebuilding multiple businesses across nearly a decade.

From his early days climbing the corporate ladder in NYC tech to his serial entrepreneurship phase that led him through restaurants, golf courses, construction, consulting, and coffee ventures, Connor reveals the costly lessons that shaped his current philosophy. He opens up about going broke twice, navigating 8-9 business ventures, and the health scare that forced him to confront his 80-hour work weeks and 3-hour sleep schedule.

Connor and Mikaela dig deep into the messy reality of business partnerships - the red flags he ignored, the deals that went south, and why most 50/50 partnerships fail. They explore his evolution from majority-stake owner trying to juggle multiple ventures to his current approach of going "all in" on Executive Partners while taking strategic minority positions in other companies.

The conversation gets personal as Connor discusses the mental health challenges that come with high-stakes entrepreneurship, his August 2023 heart episode, and the frameworks he uses now to stay off the emotional roller coaster. If you're struggling with partnership dynamics, work-life boundaries, or the temptation to chase every opportunity, this raw conversation offers hard-won wisdom from someone who's lived through the consequences.

Timestamps

• Connor's Corporate-to-Entrepreneur Transition - NYC Tech to Serial Business Ventures - 6:27
• The Serial Entrepreneur Phase - Restaurants, Golf, Construction, and Consulting - 7:20
• Partnership Lessons Learned - Why 50/50 Deals and Majority Stakes Both Failed - 14:38
• Going Broke Twice - The Real Cost of Spreading Too Thin - 5:36
• The Health Scare Wake-Up Call - Heart Episode from 80-Hour Weeks and Burnout - 27:03
• Mental Health and the Entrepreneurial Roller Coaster - Anxiety, Panic Attacks, and Perspective - 29:06
• The Philosophy Shift - From Multiple Ventures to "All In" on One Thing - 9:15
• Creating Margin and Financial Cushions - The 6-Month Rule and Schedule Boundaries - 34:18
• Why This Podcast Exists - Breaking the "Suits" Facade in Business - 37:05

Connect With Connor

• Website: https://exec.partners/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/connor.rodich/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/connor-rodich/

Learn more about how Executive Partners helps scale exterior contracting businesses at