Curt Drew always wanted to own his own business, and traveling the country in a suit Monday through Friday finally prodded him to do something about it. He got involved in a franchise called Fish Window Cleaning and enjoyed it so much he put it on autopilot and started another business.

National Radon Defense was the brainchild of a colleague, but Curt got involved and hit the ground running. Today he shares about his determination to see things through even when they were "bleeding money" in the early days.

Robot Creative has become a success for many reasons, and Lara shares a few on today's episode. She believes she is doing what she was put on this earth to do, and she's always known she was an artist.

Lara's goal is to provide art that fills a need, but she shares that entrepreneurs today sometimes have huge egos that can become the "kiss of death." She believes you have to eat humble pie and be open to learning and constantly growing as a person to become a successful entrepreneur.

In this episode, Lara shares her vision for the future of Robot Creative. Although she doesn't want "a skyscraper full of people pushing paper," she does admit that her growth goals are significantly higher than they were in the beginning.

She shares about wanting redundancy in each department and how her vision plan is to grow to 2.5 million and 25 producers plus related staff in the next 3-4 years. She has strategic moves she's planning to make, and she even holds back a bit to keep some mystery in the plans!

Lara admits that everything isn't peachy-keen just because she's been in business for 15 years. She gets candid about her cash in this episode, and exactly why growth and sales can actually put a hit on your cash flow.

She talks about  how they operate and what big projects she is focused on, as well as why she tries to let her managers manage without micromanaging them. The birth of her son four years ago forced her to take a good look at her schedule and she works hard now to maintain a balance that allows her to feel like a good mother as well as a good leader.

Lara August has been an entrepreneur since her early years, with her goal being to make her parents' allowance look as foolish as possible. Once she was old enough to get a job, she was not to thrilled with the idea of minimum wage at GAP in Chicago, so she set out to reach for more.

After traveling for some of her studies in German literature and art history, she decided to settle in San Antonio, which she calls a "big, small city." She quickly realized working for someone else wasn't as fun or as profitable as working for herself for $100/hour, so she geeked out and headed to the library to get her hands on everything she needed to start her own business. Today we find out how that all panned out for her!

Going above and beyond is the key for Dan Canfield. He loves to reach out to his customers and make them extra happy. He is rewarded for those efforts with great customer reviews that just keep coming.

He admits to a few things he might change if he had it to do all over again, but he is happy with where they are and where they're going. His long-term perspective has resulted in success many times and he agrees that his out-of-the-box thinking is the reason for it all.

Dan is a man with a plan. He has big plans for JCG Collection, and he wants to take his employees with him. Expanding the business using several key strategies, including cutting his poor sellers from the product list, will help get them where he wants to go.

He wants to build the team and also work with local inventors to get their products out there. He wants employees that enjoy their jobs and he wants to take trips with them too! (Sounds like someone you want to work for? Sure, but you can do the same thing--just take the entrepreneurial leap!)

Dan has only been in business for 18 months, but he's gearing up for his second holiday season. They've just recovered from the last one, but they are building up their inventory for Cyber Monday even now.

He and his partner have four months worth of cash for the business, putting them on more solid footing heading into this holiday season and they are really looking into other areas to build their brands besides just Amazon.

Dan Canfield wanted to do something. What, he wasn't sure. So, he moved out to Silicon Valley after he graduated from college in 2012 and dove into some start ups. They were wildly unsuccessful, by his own admission.

Then he found Amazon and his life was forever changed. Joining together with his partner, Dan has several brands he sells under and they are known for their excellent reputation in quality and customer service. But, it hasn't been a bed of roses. He gets real with lawsuits and expenses, as well as what they are doing to keep expenses down.

Mike believes his job is to inspire, support and encourage entrepreneurs to be authentic, and he'll share how he does that in today's episode. "Entrepreneurship is the ultimate platform to express ourselves," Mike says.

He'll share how to always know who is the best student in the room and why although he would change things about his past, he wouldn't trade those experiences.

Mike's candor once again comes across in this refreshing look at his plans for the future of Profit First Professionals. He takes a unique look at the world, constantly challenging "the way things have always been done."

Join us today as Mike shares a lot more about his systems, how entrepreneurs may be superheroes but you need money to survive and why you must "pay absolute attention to the profitability!" You will find out more about his envelope system and why you must take your profits and pay yourself first!

Mike is a classic case of "Do what I say, not what I do," and he has no problem admitting it. Although he packs his schedule so tightly he even starts to resent himself, he has a process set up with his assistant which may or may not involve punching him in the face to get him to take some time off.

He loves what he's doing and he's constantly thinking about his next possible book. He'll share some of his ideas for his next book in this episode, so you won't want to miss out on these great ideas!

Mike Michalowicz, author of The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur and The Pumpkin Plan, shares candidly about his start with his current business venture, Profit First Professionals. The story is one to encourage those entrepreneur wanna-be's out there to take the leap.

Mike talks about his books and how he decided to publish them and why, as well as getting very serious about depression and being real with people. He hides nothing, and his bare-boned approach will have you laughing as well as nodding in agreement when he shares something you've dealt with. You won't want to miss a single episode from this guy!

Talk about waxing philosophical! This guy has it all: spirituality, charisma, unique abilities and a 26-year marriage! In this episode, Reggie gets very deep with us, throwing out book titles and names of influential people left and right.

To Reggie Chandra, success is very spiritual, and he's not afraid to let you know it! His joy comes in creating value and making a difference, and he'll tell it to you straight, so get ready!

Reggie is candid and forthcoming in this episode, bringing to light some of his many appearances in publications and magazines. He shares his plans for world domination (not kidding on this one) and how he is already becoming the standard of choice in his market.

Reggie is focused on getting "the right butts in the right seats" in order to fully step back from the company and prepare for the launch of his new company in December 2014. He'll also lay out some details on the upcoming product releases for Rhythm Engineering.

Reggie Chandra is a dreamer, and he'll be the first to tell you, the less time he spends with people, the better. He's working on firing himself right now and he's moving in a professional CEO to take over his spot.

He's got other things on his mind. Constantly. And he'll tell you all about it in this episode, including what he does all day when he doesn't come into the office! It's fascinating!

Reggie Chandra admits he's crazy, and he's also the first to express he's an expert in nothing, but don't let his humble attitude fool you. The man lives in the future, and he says he "has moments where I come back to reality to build a bridge between the future and the present."

His business falls into the "product" category and he impacts nearly three million people every single day, even while he's asleep. Reggie provides us with some solid advice on lawyers, consultants and more.

In the early days, Jake Jorgovan was focused on how to work to create the lifestyle that would allow him to travel the world. Well, he accomplished it, and now he's realized he's finding more satisfaction in helping others.

Coaching other creatives has become the most-fulfilling part of his job, and he hopes to continue to build that part of his business. His constant commitment to personal improvement has led to his early successes, and the sky's the limit right now.

Jake Jorgovan has been accused of being over-optimistic, but he seems to be doing just fine living in his glass-half-full world. He's traveling the world, literally, while building a fabulous business, and he has plans for the future to bring his brand to the forefront to have an impact on thousands and maybe more.

Jake thrives on helping others start their own creative freelance businesses, and he hopes to focus more on this in the future, but for now he knows he does occasionally have to do the jobs that still pay most of the bills. He's hoping to invest in some property abroad, but plans to continue working with clients in the USA, whether they know he's out of the country or not!

Jake shares about his travels, and how he balances traveling with work. He may have a strange sleep schedule, but he puts in plenty of hard work hours! He rewards himself with some play time in the evenings and rarely works longer than 8 hours a day.

In this episode, Jake shares candidly how he loves to hate and hates to love what he is doing now and what he has planned for the future. You'll be jealous of this world-traveler and wanting to start your own company if you haven't already done so by the time this episode is finished!

Jake Jorgovan got started with his company quite by accident. How? Well, he’ll share that with you in today’s episode, but we’ve got a surprise in store for you! I’ll give you just a bit of a hint: Jake’s not in the USA when he does this interview, and he hasn’t been for quite some time!

Jake has a very unique approach to his business and he shares his business model with us as well as what has motivated him to use this particular model. He lives a mostly stress-free lifestyle as well as just being able to go with the flow. See why in this first episode!

TLS Learning is growing and making a difference in people's lives, and that's just how owner Tara Bryan wants it. She wants to continue to think out of the box and go beyond the status quo when it comes to delivering results for her clients.

She loves the freedom that entrepreneurship can bring, because she knows it means every day she gets to do what she loves and create her own direction.

Tara wants to continue to grow, but she wants to keep that lifestyle of peace that allows her to put her family and kids first. She enjoys her freedom to attend school events and looks to the future where she can spend even more time on the business.

She wants to make it to the million-dollar mark, but not at the cost of her freedom and family lifestyle. Join us as she shares her three key strategies and why she hates cubicles!

Tara has plans to grow beyond where she has been the past eight years, but she admits she's going to need a few more people on her payroll to get it accomplished.

She structures her whole business day around her three children and she loves what she does, even the challenging things. Come along as we learn how she's working to change from working IN the company to working ON it.

Tara Bryan was working in the corporate world and wanted to make a bigger impact. To do so, she decided to work her own consulting business part-time in the evenings. After a couple of years of that, she decided to get rid of her safety net and go full-time.

After quitting her corporate job, she was thrilled to find out how organically her business grew and although today it's still just her and some full-time subcontractors, it's just the way she wants it!

Austin White-Pentony is driven. There's no doubt about it. As he's still deeply involved in his young business, he's also attending college and attempting to find a way to balance the two as well as get a day off every now and then.

He shares a bit about their corporate buy back system as well as who has inspired him and what book he loves. Today he shares frankly about the things he would have done differently from the beginning!

Austin has plans for the future of Tech Bank and he hopes to include franchising as a possibility. Although they are gearing up for a big September and October with a new iPhone launch, Austin also believes they will reach a major milestone in sales yet this summer.

Join us as we chat about why he hopes his role will be changing soon and what that might entail. He's a pessimist and he's not afraid to admit it in this candid look at the future of Tech Bank.

Austin is still very involved in a business that really is less than a year old, but he has plans for the future. He's focusing on the selling operations right now, but he plans to get more employees so he can share the wealth of work available to him.

He wants to limit inconsistencies and fires that need to be put out, but still be able to work around his demanding school schedule. They are gearing up for a busy season when the new iPhone comes out and he'll share how many devices he expects they will take in during that time.

Austin White-Pentony is still in college, but he paid for his first two years by buying things. Yes, that's right. He buys old cell phones, tablets, Macs, etc. Then he sells them. Seems simple, right? Well, after several years of making good money, he got tired of running around town and meeting people from craigslist all the time, so he pooled his resources with his two business partners and opened a kiosk last year!

Since then, they've been flooded with opportunities to buy back broken, used or otherwise unwanted phones, iPads and other devices. This has provided them with the need for more storefronts and more employees. Come along as Austin shares his start up story--he got started in high school!

Michael gets a bit philosophical in this episode as he shares how he uses processes and infrastructure to get where he wants to be. He shares what he finds most fulfilling in his business and how he keeps from being seduced by power and money.

Although he admits he enjoys living in the clouds, he realizes he has to have the right processes in place to make it happen, and many times he has to rely on his gut to know where to go next in the business.

Michael and his business partner have adjusted their original plans to allow for more growth than they had thought possible, but they have plans and processes in place to make sure things stay running smoothly.

He wants to make sure he can grow and still be able to experience the benefits of owning a business and being in charge of his schedule, but they do have big plans for the next three years of BestHive. Come along as he gets real with us about how he plans to handle the future of his company!

Michael Schwengel loves systems. And processes. And organization. In this episode, he shares how they’ve automated, organized and put processes into place to make things run smoothly with their international office in Pakistan.

As a business owner, he seems to have a pretty sweet lifestyle set up already, allowing him freedom to pursue other interests, including hanging out in Los Angeles for over a month to pursue music and other interests. He’ll talk about how he’s gotten to this point in his short three years with BestHive.

Michael Schwengel is one of those entrepreneur addicts, starting several companies since his childhood, including Upward Designs as a middle school student, Popcorn Plus and The Forbidden Forest as well as helping a friend market her rock collection.

With this entrepreneurial spirit, he graduated from college and met his business partner, Artem Kuznetsov. Together, the two formed BestHive about three years ago and things really took off. Come along as Michael shares about his surprises that first year as well as what he enjoys most about the business.

Ingrid carries a piece of paper in her wallet to remind herself she needs to have "Oomph," as she calls it, and it seems to have driven her straight to success! She realizes her "why" has changed a bit and she focuses on her clients as well as her interpreters, but Ingrid's passion is what drives her success.

Although there are a few things she would've done differently, she has learned from those situations and she surrounds herself with a community of supporters. With her "find a way" attitude, she promises to deliver just the right amount of oomph to succeed in life and business.

Ingrid Christensen may be enjoying the ride, but she has plans for the future and they don't necessarily include INGCO International. She's planning for reality, and she sees another business venture in the cards. Join Ingrid as she shares in a quick episode how she plans to move through the next several years of her business to become more active in her community.

Ingrid Christensen is solidly in the marketing and sales seat and at the helm of her company. She knows what she loves about the business and she knows what she prefers to avoid. She gets real about cash and how to stick with processes to keep things running smoothly.

At INGCO, they work with approximately 200 languages and 300 different interpreters a year. Join us as we take a look at her typical day and how she balances work with motherhood.

Ingrid Christensen was always in high demand in the world of interpretation, but she had no idea it would lead to a business. She was just as surprised as everyone else when she stepped into the entrepreneurial world, and in this episode she shares candidly about those early surprises.

INGCO International was started nearly by accident when Ingrid couldn't manage all the requests she was receiving. Being a "fly-by-the-seat-of-her-pants" type of gal, she was quick to say "yes" to requests and then figure out how to deliver.