The Business Game
The Business GameThe Business Game is not another highlight reel of overnight success. It is a structured, honest breakdown of what it really takes to build, scale, and sustain a business at every level.We built The Business Game around a simple truth: business changes as revenue changes. The problems at $500K are not the problems at $5M. The mindset at $5M is not the mindset at $50M. That is why every conversation is grounded in our 10-Level framework, from Level 1 Startup and Survival through to Level 10 Legacy and Exit.If you are: • Trying to get your first consistent revenue • Buildi...
Why This Consultant Walked Away From Easy Revenue to Do the Right Thing | Sarabpreet "SP" Singh
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On today's episode of The Business Game, we're sitting down with Sarabpreet "SP" Singh, founder and principal consultant of Bhani Consulting, a Perth-based digital transformation and ERP consultancy helping organisations make better technology decisions without being tied to any particular vendor. With more than 16 years of experience across local government, aged care, not-for-profits, and Aboriginal corporations, SP has built a vendor-agnostic practice where doing the right thing sometimes means walking away from revenue and where the work comes when it's ripe, not when you chase it.
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He Sold His Company for $10M. It Was Worth $1 Billion. | Shlomo Assa
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On today's episode of The Business Game, we're sitting down with Shlomo Assa, chairman, president, and co-founder of Acclaro Medical, a US-made medical device company serving the aesthetic and anti-aging skin health market. With more than 40 years of experience in photonic technology, medical devices, and entrepreneurship, Shlomo has founded and sold four companies, helped triple Candela Medical's revenue in four years through product innovation and brand repositioning, and now leads a global business operating across the US, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East.
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How to Build a Business That Runs Without You | Derek Isaac
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On today's episode of The Business Game, we're sitting down with Derek Isaac, a business systems coach who helps general contractors and home builders bring structure, control, and accountability to growing construction businesses. After 20+ years in construction, contracting, and real estate investing, Derek has built a coaching program that fully systemizes general contracting companies from top to bottom.
Derek started as a contract framer who knew how to do the work but didn't know how to run the business. He spent years learning through trial, error, and...
Why Biohacking Has Been Getting It Wrong For Women | Timmi Stump
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On today's episode of The Business Game, we're sitting down with Timmi Stump, Chief Commercial Officer of Vesalius Longevity Labs, a company building the infrastructure for longevity and regenerative medicine from the ground up, pharmacy channels, a provider ordering platform, an elite clinic in Miami, and a telemedicine platform on the way.
Timmi spent 25 years in pharmaceuticals before jumping into integrative medicine six years ago. She's worked across CBD, lab services, pharmacy, and pharmaceutical manufacturing and she's bringing all of it together to build a...
Why I Turned Away 25% of People Who Wanted a Franchise | Mike Harley
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On today's episode of The Business Game, we're sitting down with Mike Harley, a franchise systems specialist with decades of experience building and scaling franchise operations across the car rental, automotive, parking, and recreation industries, including taking a company public and building the largest used car sales franchise network in the US.
Mike is now bringing that expertise to the US pharmacy industry through Galt Phranchise™ System , helping independent pharmacy owners build more sustainable businesses through a proven franchise model that adds revenue streams, national br...
2/3 of Your Website Traffic is AI — And It's Costing You Clients | Huxley Peckham
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On today's episode of The Business Game, we're sitting down with Huxley Peckham, founder of Tech Horizon Labs and creator of "Are You Found by AI", a platform that shows companies what AI tools are actually telling their customers about them.
Huxley helps founders answer the question he asks every business owner before working with them: can an AI agent visit your website and confidently understand what you do or are you invisible to the fastest-growing discovery channel in history?
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Why Only 4% of Businesses Ever Break $1M (And How to Be One of Them) | Tamika Tyson
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On today's episode of The Business Game, we're sitting down with Tamika Tyson, founder and managing director of SCALE, a risk-informed advisory firm helping investors and portfolio companies understand the risks that shape performance, growth, and value. She's also the author of Win or Win, a #1 bestseller in multiple Amazon categories on getting the right people in the right roles at the right time.
After starting her career underwriting small business loans in a bank basement, testing covenants, calculating ratios, and discovering that...
False Security: Why a Day Job Is Riskier Than Entrepreneurship | Ryan Page
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On today's episode of The Business Game, we're sitting down with Ryan Page, founder of Backpocket CPA, where he helps digital marketing agencies build financial operating systems that replace gut decisions with data and margin-driven strategy.
After graduating with a background in Big Four accounting and Fortune 500 finance, Ryan felt the work had no real impact. Sitting in a cube arriving and leaving in the dark, questioning whether this was the life he wanted. It wasn't until his son was born that he finally went...
She Worked on Billion-Dollar Strategies. What Women Founders Were Missing? | Chaitra Vedullapalli
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On this episode of The Business Game, Chaitra Vedullapalli, award-winning tech entrepreneur, global business leader, and co-founder and president of Women in Cloud, opens up about how she's turned economic access into a movement, unlocking over $600 million in opportunity for founders across 80-plus countries.
Chaitra's story is a powerful reminder that growth isn't just about strategy and scale. Sometimes, it's about learning to lead with generosity, trust, and access so you can build an ecosystem instead of just a business.
Let's dive in,<...
She Built the Business She Wanted. Then Asked: “What Would I Love?” | Kerri-Ann Luketic
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On this episode of The Business Game, Kerri-Ann Luketic, life mastery consultant, international speaker, author, and founder of Candere Life Coaching, opens up about the internal shifts that separate high-achievers who burn out from those who build sustainable success.
Kerri-Ann's story is a powerful reminder that growth isn't just about strategy and hustle. Sometimes, it's about learning to align your vision, identity, and nervous system so you can build the business and life you actually want.
Let's dive in,
With Kerri-Ann...
From Property to $1M: The Decisions That Changed Everything | Cat Vulich
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On this episode of The Business Game, Cat Vulich, founder of The Street Buyers Agency on the Sunshine Coast, opens up about the health scare, career pivots and hard-won lessons that shaped her journey from interior design and development into building a boutique property buying business.
Cat's story is a powerful reminder that alignment often comes from adversity. Sometimes, it takes being forced to stop before you can find the work you're truly meant to do.
Let's dive in,
With Cat...
Scammed, Fired, Broke: Now Running a 7-Figure Company | Gary Capps
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On this episode of The Business Game, Gary Capps, founder of MyCRMSIM, opens up about the setbacks, lessons and decisions that shaped his journey from financial uncertainty to building a growing SaaS company.
Gary’s story is a powerful reminder that success isn’t always about avoiding failure. Sometimes, it’s about learning how to take the hits, step back, and keep moving forward.
Let’s dive in,
With Gary Capps:
• How an expensive SMS messaging problem inside his agency b...
Insurance With No Gotchas: How GradGuard Earned Trust at Scale | John Fees
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On today’s episode of The Business Game, we’re sitting down with John Fees, Co-Founder and CEO of GradGuard. After more than two decades as a serial entrepreneur, John has built and successfully exited multiple companies, including businesses acquired by Viacom and JPMorgan Chase, before founding GradGuard, a fintech company providing financial protection products for students and families navigating higher education.
Let’s dive in,
With John Fees:
From CFO to Founder: The Story Behind Tala Offshore | Natalie Roberts
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On today’s episode of The Business Game, we’re sitting down with Natalie Roberts, Founder of Tala Offshore. After 17 years building a career in public practice and corporate finance, including serving as CFO of a multi-million-dollar international technology company, Natalie walked away from it all to build the kind of offshore staffing company she wished existed.
Let’s dive in,
With Natalie Roberts:
£20K to Global Brand: How Black Sheep Coffee Built an Empire | Eirik Holth
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On today’s episode of The Business Game, we’re sitting down with Eirik Holth, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Black Sheep Coffee. The brand that grew from a trestle table and a rented coffee machine into an international business with more than 100 stores across the UK, Europe, the Middle East and the United States.
LEVEL 6: $100M-$500M. Governance, Data & Serious Infrastructure.
After quitting his corporate job with no business name, no retail experience, and just £20,000 to get started, Eirik built Black Sheep Coffee by chal...
Top Performers Have One Thing In Common
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On today’s episode of The Business Game, we’re sitting down with Boaz Gilad, Founder of Zenith Clubhouse, author of The Zenith Code, and host of the Unmask Podcast. After spending more than 20 years building and leading a New York real estate company—including taking it public—Boaz shifted his focus to helping entrepreneurs, executives, and high performers unlock their full potential through disciplined execution and practical 90-day performance systems.
Rather than relying on motivation or inspiration, Boaz believes success comes fro...
We Started A Business Out Of Our Infertility Journey | Maddi Barnett & Michael Dunn
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On today’s episode of The Business Game, we’re sitting down with Maddi Barnett and Michael Dunn, the husband-and-wife founders of InKindle, an Australian preconception health brand born from their own IVF and fertility journey.
After experiencing years of IVF, pregnancy loss, and the uncertainty that comes with trying to conceive, Maddi and Michael discovered a gap in the market: there were plenty of products supporting pregnancy and babies, but far fewer focused specifically on preconception health and supporting the mum before pregnancy.
With...
YOU'RE THE BOTTLENECK OF YOUR OWN BUSINESS
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On today’s episode of The Business Game, we’re sitting down with Andrew Sparks, Founder of exyt® and creator of Exit OS — a practical operating system designed to help founder-led businesses remove owner dependence, build stronger leadership teams, and scale without the founder becoming the bottleneck.
After leaving school at just 15 to become a plumber, Andrew built multiple successful businesses before studying psychology and performance, combining decades of real-world business experience with human behaviour to create a framework that helps founders reclaim their ti...
He Lost Everything... And Rebuilt Bigger & Better
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On today’s episode of The Business Game, we’re sitting down with Sahil Nijhawan, CEO of Nexus DMC Oceania and an entrepreneur who has spent more than 20 years building businesses across travel, real estate, construction, AI, and consumer brands.
LEVEL 5: $30M-$100M: Executive Layer and Divisions
When COVID brought the global travel industry to a complete standstill, Sahil lost the business he had spent years building. With no income and no clear path forward, he went from leading a thriving company to stacki...
AI WON'T REPLACE YOU - LACK OF ORIGINALITY WILL
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On today’s episode of The Business Game, we’re sitting down with Jonathan Aberman, Founder and CEO of Hupside, a venture capitalist turned entrepreneur who has spent more than 25 years helping launch over 40 technology companies and advising founders on what separates good businesses from truly exceptional ones.
LEVEL 2: $1M-$3M Dollars. First Teams, First Systems
After decades investing in innovation, Jonathan returned to the founder's seat with a bold mission: to prove that in a world increasingly powered by AI, the greatest compet...
Miranda McLennan X walking away from a successful business to start something new
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On today’s episode of The Business Game, we’re sitting down with Miranda McLennan, Founder of Those Who Dare Agency and what many would call the queen of reinvention.
Level 1: STARTUP & SURVIVAL STAGE: $0M – 1M
After spending more than 15 years building businesses across hospitality, fashion, aviation, construction and business consulting, including co-founding an award-winning restaurant in the Italian Dolomites, Miranda has built a career by saying yes to opportunities, trusting her intuition, and reinventing herself whenever life called for it.
Today, sh...
Darragh de Stonndún X AI AND ROBOTICS ARE CHANGING THE FUTURE!
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On today’s episode of The Business Game, we’re sitting down with Darragh de Stonndún, CEO of Automated Industrial Robotics (AIR), a global automation company with more than 550 people across the US, UK, and Ireland.
Darragh is doing business at Level 7: $500M-$1B - The Global Expansion Stage
Over the past 25 years, Darragh has helped transform AIR from a collection of regional engineering businesses into a global automation platform. Today, he’s leading the company through its next phase of integrating acquisiti...
LEVEL FIVE: SaaS Founder on Why Distribution Beats Product Every Time
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On today's episode of The Business Game, we're sitting down with Yega Kumarappan, Founder and CEO of Paperflite, an AI-powered sales enablement platform helping enterprise sales teams close deals faster through intelligent content, conversation and deal insights. Over the past eight years, Yega has built a global SaaS company by staying ahead of rapid technological change... and he's convinced that in the AI era, your product is no longer your competitive advantage.
As artificial intelligence makes it possible for almost anyone to build software in days instead...
LEVEL TWO: Visual Thinking Expert on Working with Dan Martell, the Future of IP, and Owning Your Genius
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On today’s episode of The Business Game, we’re sitting down with Simon Bowen, founder of The Models Method and creator of the Genius Model, a visual thinking framework used in more than 30 countries to help founders, leaders and organisations make complex ideas simple, scalable and impossible to ignore.
After growing up in small country towns in Western Australia and spending decades consulting on billion-dollar infrastructure projects, military operations, government initiatives and corporate strategy, Simon discovered that the fastest way to align peopl...
LEVEL TWO: Visual Thinking Expert on Working with Dan Martell, the Future of IP, and Owning Your Genius
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On today’s episode of The Business Game, we’re sitting down with Simon Bowen, founder of The Models Method and creator of the Genius Model, a visual thinking framework used in more than 30 countries to help founders, leaders and organisations make complex ideas simple, scalable and impossible to ignore.
After growing up in small country towns in Western Australia and spending decades consulting on billion-dollar infrastructure projects, military operations, government initiatives and corporate strategy, Simon discovered that the fastest way to align peopl...
LEVEL 4: Video Editing CEO: From A $200 Startup... to 90 Employees
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Starting a business with $200 is impressive.
Rebuilding it three separate times after devastating setbacks is something else entirely.
In this Throwback Thursday episode of The Business Game, Dave Feinman shares the lessons behind scaling his video editing business Viral Ideas into a global creative venture with more than 90 employees. From losing 80% of his revenue overnight to building systems that allow creativity to scale, Dave explains why operational complexity – not finding customers – is the real challenge of growth.
If you're buil...
LEVEL SIX: Serial Entrepreneur on Why Everything in Business Is Ones and Zeros
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Level 5: $30M-$100M
Executive Layer and Division Growth
On today’s episode of The Business Game, we’re sitting down with Robert Indries, Managing Partner of Elkridge Advisors. Robert is an engineer turned powerhouse entrepreneur who has generated more than $500 million in business value, built a diverse parallel portfolio of companies, and successfully executed an eight-figure exit from an AI venture.
Robert’s path wasn't built on the typical "Instagram entrepreneur" fantasy. From growing up on a small Transylvanian farm to hitting absolute...
LEVEL ONE: Property Founder on Why He Walked Away From a $250K Career to Start From Zero
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LEVEL 1: $0M-$1M
START UP AND SURVIVAL STAGE
In this episode of The Business Game, we sit down with Matthew Nowell, founder of MPAC Property Group, RentFinder Australia, and a new building company focused on cashflow positive investments.
Matthew shares how he had a $250,000 leadership role in the mining industry before making the life-changing decision to leave it all behind at 39. He opens up about the mindset that helped him embrace uncertainty, why he believes failure is one of...
LEVEL THREE: Marketing Veteran on Why Most Founders Burn Out and How to Avoid It
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Level 3: $3-$8M
DELEGATION AND EARLY LEADERSHIP
On today’s episode of The Business Game, we’re sitting down with Phil Ohren, Founder and CEO of Intender, a growth marketing agency on a mission to make advertising useful, not annoying.
Like many founders, Phil spent years chasing growth, building teams, serving clients, and pushing for the next milestone. But behind the scenes, he found himself facing something he never expected: burnout so severe it left him with writer's block...
LEVEL FOUR: Global Entrepreneur on What the World's Most Successful Founders Have in Common
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LEVEL 4: $8M - $20M
GROWING PAINS AND OPERATIONAL COMPLEXITY
On today’s episode of The Business Game, we’re sitting down with Skye Blanks, Chief Operations Officer at the International Council for Small Business (ICSB) and founder of Herman Todd Consulting Group, to unpack what it really takes to grow a business beyond founder hustle and into something that can scale sustainably.
At this stage of the game, the challenge isn’t just getting customers or staying...
LEVEL THREE: An Inventor on Exiting Seven Companies, Holding 100 Patents, and Building With AI
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LEVEL 3: $3M - $8M
DELEGATION AND EARLY LEADERSHIP
On today’s episode of The Business Game, we’re joined by Mark Vange, founder and CEO of Autom8ly, a serial tech entrepreneur who has built and sold seven companies, holds more than 100 patents, and has spent decades building at the edge of software, gaming, fintech, and now AI.
In this episode, Mark unpacks what founders are getting wrong about AI, why most businesses are still using it far too nar...
LEVEL SIX: Pharma Innovator On Franchising, Bootstrapping and Long Term Success
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LEVEL 6: $50M – $150M
GOVERNANCE, DATA & SERIOUS INFRASTRUCTURE
On today’s episode of The Business Game, we’re sitting down with Barry Patel, Founder and CEO of Galt Pharmaceuticals, a company redefining how pharmaceutical businesses are built, scaled, and distributed.
Starting with no outside investors and bootstrapping his way through one of the world’s most heavily regulated industries, Barry shares how he built a pharmaceutical company using an unconventional franchise model, why he believes founders should avoid raising capital for as long as...
LEVEL 2: Veteran Business Strategist on Why Following Your Competitors Is the Fastest Way to Fail
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LEVEL 2: $1M – $3M
FIRST TEAM, FIRST SYSTEMS
Most founders think scaling is about working harder... but Michael Barbarita learned the opposite.
In today's episode of The Business Game, Michael shares lessons from more than 30 years building and operating businesses across retail, manufacturing, finance, and service industries. From growing a retail company from $2.5 million to $8 million in under five years to serving as a CFO, Treasurer, board member, and business advisor, he's seen what actually drives sustainable growth.
We discu...
LEVEL TWO: A Software Pro Tells Us Why Claude Is The Best Developer He's Ever Worked With
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What if the best software developer for your business isn't an agency, a freelancer or even an employee?
According to Paul Salvage - Chief AI Officer & founder of Productly - the best developer for your business is... you.
In this episode of The Business Game, Paul explains why AI is fundamentally changing software development, why traditional agencies are becoming obsolete, and how founders can now build products themselves with the help of tools like Claude.
With over 30 years of experience in pr...
LEVEL ONE: AI Growth Expert on the AI Trick That Saves Me Hours Every Week
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LEVEL TWO: $1M to $5M
FIRST TEAMS, FIRST SYSTEMS STAGE
On today’s episode of The Business Game, we’re sitting down with Robyn Anderson, Founder of JAM AI and creator of Club JAM. One of the fastest-growing AI communities helping small business owners actually understand and implement AI into their day-to-day operations.
After building 17 different AI courses around tools that quickly became obsolete, Robyn realized the real opportunity wasn’t selling information… it was building a communit...
LEVEL 3: Second-Generation Agency Leader on Modernising a 60-Year-Old Business Without Ruining It
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LEVEL 3: $3M – $8M
DELEGATION & EARLY LEADERSHIP STAGE
On today’s episode of The Business Game, we’re sitting down with Chad G. Bauer, owner of SR&B Advertising, a second-generation agency leader navigating the pressure of modernising a 60-year family business without losing the legacy that built it.
After stepping into the company founded by his father, Chad realised the biggest bottleneck wasn’t the market... it was himself. In this episode, he shares the hard lessons around delegation...
LEVEL TWO: E-Commerce Founder on 10 Million Views, Airport Deals, and Building a Million-Dollar Brand
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LEVEL 1: $0 – $1M
STARTUP & SURVIVAL STAGE
On today’s episode of The Business Game, we’re sitting down with Laura Campbell, Founder of Hip Surfer, the Australian baby product brand transforming how parents carry their children.
What started as a side hustle during maternity leave quickly became something much bigger. After struggling with chronic pain and finding existing baby carriers uncomfortable, Laura decided to create her own solution. Three years later, Hip Surfer has grown into a seven-figure business stocked in airports...
Sales Psychologist: Why Sales Get Harder When You Need Them Most
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LEVEL 1: $0 – $1M
STARTUP & SURVIVAL STAGE
On today’s episode of The Business Game, we’re sitting down with Ian Stephens, one of Australia’s leading sales psychologists, speaker, author, and performance coach who has worked with businesses in 29 countries around the world
Before becoming an internationally recognised sales expert, Ian spent years fighting to keep his business alive — borrowing money from his parents, selling his car, and even selling his house to stay in the game. Along the way, he learned so...
LEVEL TWO: Workplace Culture Expert on Why Bad Employees Are Built By Bad Leadership
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LEVEL 2: $1M – $3M
FIRST TEAM, FIRST SYSTEMS STAGE
On today’s episode of The Business Game, we’re sitting down with Dustin Snyder, Founder and Chief Advisor of WayForward, the company helping organisations uncover the hidden behavioural systems driving turnover, disengagement, low performance, and leadership problems inside teams.
After leading a 600-person manufacturing turnaround, Dustin realised something most leaders never see: employee behaviour isn’t random, it’s the rational output of the systems leaders create around people. That insight...
LEVEL THREE: Million-Dollar Book Strategist On How She Went From $3.6Million in Debt to Multi-Millions... In 18 Months
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LEVEL THREE: $3M to $8M:
DELEGATION AND EARLY LEADERSHIP
On today’s episode of The Business Game, we’re sitting down with Melanie Warner, founder and CEO of Defining Moments Press.
After rebuilding from $3.6 million in debt to multi-millions in just 18 months, Melanie has turned personal adversity into a scalable business model that helps entrepreneurs turn books into client acquisition systems.
What started as a frustrating battle with traditional publishing evolved into the Seven Figure Book Method. A system...
