What does building wealth mean if you lose the freedom and relationships you wanted it to provide?

In this episode of Build Your Wealth, Josh Marsden sits down with entrepreneur, author, and coach Craig Ballantyne to talk about building a business and a life that work together.

Craig shares lessons from selling fitness programs online, buying Early to Rise, and coaching entrepreneurs. We discuss why he moved too quickly on some investments, how he evaluates growing trends, and the habits and relationships that help him navigate difficult seasons in business.

In this conversation:
• Building wealth while protecting family time
• Generosity and relationships as part of business growth
• Facing difficult realities without losing hope
• Lessons from investing in other people's businesses
• Finding a focused, useful opportunity in AI

Connect with Craig:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/realcraigballantyne/
Website: https://craigballantyne.com

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Discover how we help people buy or invest in already profitable online businesses, using our system that drives down risks, sets up maximum ROI, and requires less money down than you would think: https://ecominvest.club/

Chapters:
00:00 Opening: the cost of investing too fast
00:43 Meet Craig Ballantyne
04:56 Building wealth and protecting family time
07:11 How Craig defines wealth
16:08 Generosity, abundance, and useful relationships
21:33 Working through scarcity and difficult seasons
30:48 Lessons from investing too quickly
32:15 Recognizing a rising trend
36:45 Finding a focused opportunity in AI
41:39 Starting small and creating value

What changes when the goal of investing becomes avoiding preventable loss instead of chasing the next big win?

Brad Costanzo joins me on Build Your Wealth for a candid conversation about investment losses, purchasing power, Bitcoin, real estate, private equity, and the difference between volatility and risk.

IN THIS EPISODE

• Why the objective can shift from getting rich to avoiding preventable loss
• The role of an emergency cash buffer
• Bitcoin and trophy real estate in a long-term asset strategy
• Price volatility, dilution, fundamentals, management, liquidity, and competition
• When private equity may or may not fit
• Why skills, distribution, and defensibility matter in fast-moving markets

CHAPTERS

0:00 Cold open
0:46 Opening: Brad Costanzo's wealth-building framework
3:04 Why the monetary system changes the investing game
6:22 The hidden cost of holding cash
11:56 Losing everything and starting over
16:10 The case for Bitcoin and a long time horizon
19:28 Trophy real estate, Bitcoin, and cash
26:56 Build a cash buffer before taking more risk
28:08 The major risks every investor should examine
31:48 Investing in skills and resourcefulness
32:03 Private equity: reward, liquidity, and fit
40:36 AI businesses, competition, and protective moats
45:57 Resources and closing thoughts

CONNECT WITH BRAD COSTANZO

Website: https://bradcostanzo.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@bradcostanzo
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bradcostanzo/
X: https://x.com/BradCostanzo
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BradCostanzoOfficial/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradcostanzo/

JOIN THE COMMUNITY

Join the free Online Business Buyers Club, a private community for people who want to own proven, profitable online companies instead of starting from scratch: https://ecominvest.club/

CONNECT WITH JOSH

Website: https://www.joshscale.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@joshscale
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joshscale/

The views in this episode are personal opinions and do not constitute financial, legal, tax, or investment advice. Buying or operating a business is not a guaranteed or passive result. Outcomes vary. This episode does not promise income, returns, or wealth.

What if playing it safe creates its own financial risk?

Kris Krohn joins me on Build Your Wealth to challenge the default retirement playbook. We break down why people can follow the traditional path and still approach retirement with only a fraction of what they need. The conversation covers risk, real estate, passive income, cash flow, the home as an investment decision, and why the people you choose to learn from can shape your financial outcome.

IN THIS EPISODE

• Why avoiding every risk can create a different kind of financial risk
• How to calculate whether your current path can reach your destination
• How real estate and cash-flow opportunities can change the equation
• Why ownership, action, and qualified guidance matter

CHAPTERS

0:00 Why risk is part of financial freedom
1:12 Building wealth with a clear destination
2:14 When the traditional retirement plan falls short
4:27 How real estate and passive income changed the path
9:07 The home as an investment decision
13:52 Taking ownership of income and cash flow
29:11 Be careful whose financial advice you follow
35:05 The decisions behind becoming a millionaire

CONNECT WITH KRIS KROHN

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@KrisKrohn
Website: https://www.kriskrohn.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kriskrohn/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MentorwithKris/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mentorwithkris

JOIN THE COMMUNITY

Join the free Online Business Buyers Club, a private community for people who want to own proven, profitable online companies instead of starting from scratch: https://ecominvest.club/

CONNECT WITH JOSH

Website: https://www.joshscale.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@joshscale
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joshscale/

The views in this episode are personal opinions and do not constitute financial, legal, tax, or investment advice. Buying or operating a business is not a guaranteed or passive result. Outcomes vary. This episode does not promise income, returns, or wealth.