What if the business you're building is actually your greatest financial asset—but you're treating it like just another job? Jason Lee, Vice President at Exponent Prosperity Advisors, challenges entrepreneurs to shift their mindset from survival mode to wealth-building mode. Whether you're grinding through your first few years or already generating serious revenue, Jason reveals why most founders accidentally sabotage their path to financial freedom—and exactly what to do about it. From the surprising income threshold that puts you in the top 1% to the delegation decisions that make or break your future exit strategy, this conversation will change how you think about money, time, and the true purpose of entrepreneurship.

HIGHLIGHTS

• The paradigm shift: Your business isn't a job—it's your greatest financial asset

• Why most entrepreneurs leave corporate life but accidentally recreate the same limitations

• The delegation trap: How holding onto $60K tasks prevents you from building million-dollar value

• What it really takes to be in the top 1% of earners (the number might surprise you)

• The 18-24 month timeline: Why building wealth infrastructure takes longer than you think

• How guilt around money keeps good entrepreneurs from achieving the freedom they started their business for

• The "start with the answer" principle: Defining your exit before you're drowning in daily operations

• Why your first 2-5 years will be chaotic no matter how much advice you follow—and what to focus on anyway

CHAPTERS

[00:00] Introduction to Jason Lee and Exponent Prosperity Advisors

[01:38] The Paradigm Shift for Founders

[04:15] Understanding Wealth and Entrepreneurial Motivation

[08:00] The Importance of Delegation and Vision

[11:24] Challenges and Strategies for Wealth Accumulation

[15:43] Mindset and Identity in Wealth Building

[18:34] Setting the 1% Mindset

[18:58] Advanced Tax Strategies

[19:25] Leveraging Net Worth

[20:22] The Importance of Financial Independence

[21:52] Aspirational Goals and Planning

[25:49] The Entrepreneurial Journey

[27:19] Building a Comprehensive Plan

[30:35] Investing in People

[35:42] Overcoming Money Struggles

[36:47] Conclusion and Contact Information

RESOURCES MENTIONED

• Exponent Prosperity Advisors - https://exponentx.net

• Jason Lee on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonleeexponent/

• Email: jlee@exponentx.net

• C12 Group - Christian CEO peer advisory organization - https://www.joinc12.com/

• Katherine Pomerantz - Guest on Episode 2

Want to join with other like minded entrepreneurs? Visit the Good Humans Growth Network for connections and support: https://www.theghgn.com/

Are you drowning in random marketing tactics that aren't producing the qualified leads you need? You're not alone. Most micro business owners struggle with marketing overwhelm—posting on every social platform, buying ads before speaking events, and outsourcing Instagram to whoever's available. But what if the solution isn't doing more, but doing less with greater clarity?

I sit down with my friend Dana Casto, a fractional Chief Marketing Officer who works with consultants and coaches, to tackle the marketing chaos that keeps business owners up at night. Dana shares his three-part framework—a Venn diagram approach that anyone can use to stop doing random acts of marketing and start producing real results. You'll learn why narrowing your focus is actually the secret to scaling, how to identify where your audience really is, and the exact sequence to follow before making your first marketing hire. If you're ready to move from scattered efforts to strategic growth, this conversation will change how you think about marketing forever.

HIGHLIGHTS

• The three biggest marketing mistakes: fragmentation, reactivity, and misalignment

• The 1-1-1 rule: one audience, one problem, one channel

• Why joy matters in choosing your marketing channels (and how it's like choosing a workout you'll actually do)

• Dana's three-circle Venn diagram for finding your marketing sweet spot: what you're exceptional at, what people will buy, and what brings you joy

• The critical sequence for your first marketing hire: clarity first, then strategy, then implementation

• Why marketing is a long game, not a quick win—and how small adjustments beat hard resets

• How to know if you should focus on email, LinkedIn, or another channel based on what you actually enjoy

• The most expensive misunderstanding: hiring implementers before you have a strategy

CHAPTERS

0:00 - Introduction: Meet Dana Casto, Fractional CMO

1:30 - The Marketing Paradigm Shift: Do Less, Not More

3:45 - The Three Marketing Mistakes: Fragmentation, Reactivity, and Misalignment

8:15 - The 1-1-1 Rule: One Audience, One Problem, One Channel

10:30 - Finding Your Marketing Channel: What Brings You Joy?

14:20 - The Three-Circle Venn Diagram Framework

18:45 - Dana's Journey to Focusing on Strategy

21:00 - Why Email Marketing Works (and Why We Love It)

28:30 - The Power of LinkedIn Comments for Relationship Building

31:15 - Your First Marketing Hire: The Expensive Mistakes to Avoid

35:40 - Clarity → Strategy → Implementation: The Right Sequence

38:20 - Demystifying Marketing Strategy

41:30 - Where to Find Dana + Final Thoughts on Intentional Growth

RESOURCES MENTIONED

• Dana Casto's website: whispr.us

• Dana Casto on LinkedIn

Want to join with other like minded entrepreneurs? Visit the Good Humans Growth Network for connections and support: https://www.theghgn.com/

What if the way you think about money is actually keeping you from building the business you want? As a founder, you're making financial decisions every single day—but most of us are operating with outdated beliefs about what money actually is and how it works. Katherine Pomerantz, fractional CFO and tax strategist, reveals that money isn't something you earn and keep—it's a flowing force that needs to be assigned jobs, just like a teammate. Through her Money Storyteller Method, Katherine helps personal brands, speakers, and consultants understand the three roles money plays in their business story: teammate, treasure, or villain. When you cast money in the wrong role, you delay success, give away your power, or worse—burn out trying to reach a finish line that keeps moving. Katherine shares how to identify your money mindset, organize your financial data, and map a path to the lifestyle and freedom you actually started your business to create.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Money is a flowing force (currency = current) that cannot stand still—your cash flow statement will never be zero

• The three roles money plays in your story: teammate (effective), treasure (delays success), or villain (gives away power)

• Making money the "treasure" shows up as "I'm not ready yet" or "I need to earn/deserve this first"

• Making money the "villain" sounds like "I could never charge that much" or "my clients will always be demanding"

• Every life event—positive or negative—has a significant financial consequence, creating financial trauma that shapes our decisions

• The average wedding costs $27,000; financial stress isn't about the money itself but about the emotions we attach to it

• Taxes are the biggest expense you'll pay in your lifetime—you need a smart system so you work for yourself, not the government

• Having clean financial data isn't enough; you need it organized in a way that helps you make strategic decisions

• The Money Storyteller Method has three pillars: Money Story (mindset), Money Systems (data), and Money Map (strategy)

• You don't stop being the chief of everything—you just become a smarter one

CHAPTERS

0:00 - Introduction: Understanding Founders' Mindset About Money

1:09 - The True Nature of Money: It's Always Moving

3:50 - Money as a Teammate: Assigning Jobs to Money

7:34 - The Hero's Journey: Storytelling and Money

10:39 - Common Money Archetypes: Treasure and Villain

18:10 - Financial Trauma and Its Impact on Money Mindset

21:18 - Integrating Professional Services with Storytelling

24:43 - Practical Steps for Founders: Financial Help and Assessments

26:54 - Conclusion: Becoming a Smarter Chief of Everything

RESOURCES MENTIONED

• Money Storyteller Method Assessment - Take the 10-minute assessment to get your Money Storyteller score across all three pillars (money story, money systems, money map)

• GROW 2026 Conference - Katherine Pomerantz will be offering Financial Readiness Review sessions in her consulting corner

• StoryBrand - Business storytelling framework referenced in the episode

• Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey - The storytelling research that forms the foundation of Katherine's money framework

Want to join with other like minded entrepreneurs? Visit the Good Humans Growth Network for connections and support: https://www.theghgn.com/

We often think branding is just logos and colors—something to tackle "later" when we have a budget. But the truth is, without a clear brand strategy from the start, you're wasting precious hours every single day making decisions that should already be systematized.

Sarah Sears, founder and principal of S Design, joins me to break down what branding really means for small business owners and why it's so much more than visual identity. We explore the uncomfortable truth that your business will evolve over years (not months), why designing for yourself instead of your customer is a costly mistake, and how brand strategy connects to everything from sales to hiring. Sarah shares practical advice on creating systems that save time, the power of consistency, and why trusting your gut about brand misalignment is actually strategic intelligence at work.

Highlights

• Brand is the perception customers and stakeholders have about you—not just your logo and colors
• The evolution of your business takes years, and trying to shortchange this process always backfires
• Brand strategy is fundamentally about differentiation: solving problems differently and aligning with what customers actually need
• The biggest waste of money is not having a branding system in place—teams waste time daily rethinking tone, messaging, and visual decisions
• Your purpose lasts forever, values anchor to purpose, but mission and goals evolve over time
• Brand strategy and business strategy should align like two strands of DNA
• That "nagging feeling" when something doesn't feel right is brand misalignment—trust your intuition
• Design thinking is iterative: gather research, reflect, incorporate, and continuously improve
• Schedule regular time (monthly or weekly) to reflect on what you're learning about your brand and business

Chapters

0:00 - Introduction and Guest Welcome

1:12 - The Importance of Branding for Small Businesses

2:17 - Understanding Brand Strategy

5:30 - Differentiation and Customer Alignment

6:51 - Brand Identity and Consistency

10:07 - Common Branding Mistakes and Solutions

15:27 - Evolving Your Brand and Continuous Improvement

19:55 - Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Resources Mentioned

• S Design Inc. - Sarah Sears' branding agency: sdesigninc.com
• Sarah Sears on LinkedIn
• ChatGPT

Want to join with other like minded entrepreneurs? Visit the Good Humans Growth Network for connections and support: https://www.theghgn.com/