What if growing your business actually made life LESS stressful?

In this episode of Your Business Growth Podcast, Jeremy Shapiro interviews Mike Ritsema, CEO of i3 Business Solutions, about how he scaled a struggling IT services company into a $10M+ recurring revenue business through acquisitions, specialization, and operational systems.

Mike shares the difficult realities behind entrepreneurship:
✔️ Maxing out personal credit lines
✔️ Going months without taking a paycheck
✔️ Surviving the 2001 tech recession
✔️ Watching 9/11 unfold while fearing the business would collapse
✔️ Navigating the Great Recession and COVID
✔️ Managing complicated business partner buyouts

Instead of slowing down, Mike leaned into growth and built a stronger company through recurring revenue, acquisitions, and organizational focus.

In this episode, we discuss:
✔️ Why buying a business can outperform starting one from scratch
✔️ The hidden operational cost of employees wearing multiple hats
✔️ How specialization improves service quality and execution
✔️ Why recurring revenue transformed the company
✔️ The operational benefits of scaling beyond 50 employees
✔️ How acquisitions simplified leadership responsibilities
✔️ EOS, Traction, and operational accountability systems
✔️ Why referrals remain the highest-quality lead source
✔️ Building premium service businesses with stronger margins
✔️ The value of peer groups, masterminds, and mentorship

Mike also shares lessons on:
✔️ Leadership during economic uncertainty
✔️ Scaling service-based businesses
✔️ Delegation and operational clarity
✔️ Managing company culture after acquisitions
✔️ Why lifelong learning matters for entrepreneurs

👉 Connect with Michael Ritsema and learn more about i3 Business Solutions:
* i3 Business Solutions: https://i3bus.com/
* Michael Ritsema on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeljritsema

📘 Hosted by Jeremy B. Shapiro, Author of Your Business Growth Playbook ( https://yourbusinessgrowthplaybook.com/ )

Chapters:
00:00 On the Brink
01:11 From IBM to Ownership
02:32 Buying Not Starting
05:37 Early Struggles and 9 11
09:16 Recession Pivot and Plateau
11:41 Too Many Hats
13:43 Partner Buyouts and Recurring Revenue
16:58 Bored Then Bought a Rival
20:46 Scale With Less Stress
24:30 Systems and Priorities
26:02 Weekly Priority Discipline
26:47 Client Value Over Noise
27:23 Networking for Acquisitions
28:25 Merging Company Cultures
30:56 One Role One Rock
34:27 Specialization at Scale
36:20 Pricing Power and Saying No
38:07 Scaling Advice and Mentors
41:50 Peer Groups and Benchmarks
43:56 Owner KPIs for Growth
45:36 Rapid Fire Takeaways
47:37 Unlikely Mentor Story
49:34 Wrap Up and Where to Connect

Keywords: Mike Ritsema, Jeremy Shapiro, recurring revenue, IT business, managed services, EOS, Traction, business acquisitions, entrepreneurship, business systems, MSP growth, leadership, scaling a business, service business growth, business strategy

#businessgrowth #Entrepreneurship #RecurringRevenue #Leadership #BusinessStrategy #Podcast

Want to be a guest on Your Business Growth Podcast? Send Jeremy Shapiro a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/your_business_growth_podcast

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What happens when your company hits $10 million in revenue… but profits barely move?

In this episode of Your Business Growth Podcast, Jeremy Shapiro interviews entrepreneur and EndoDNA founder Len May about the exact shift that transformed his business from a struggling direct-to-consumer model into a scalable B2B healthcare company.

Len shares how:
✔️ Rising advertising costs nearly stalled growth
✔️ Social media platforms repeatedly shut down campaigns
✔️ Customer acquisition became increasingly expensive
✔️ COVID disrupted events and distribution channels
✔️ Revenue continued growing while profitability stayed flat

Then came the breakthrough: Instead of selling directly to consumers, Len shifted the business scaling the company from $10 million to $40 million in annual revenue.

In this episode, we discuss:
✔️ Why some high-revenue businesses struggle financially
✔️ The hidden downside of direct-to-consumer models
✔️ The power of B2B partnerships and white-labeling
✔️ How recurring revenue transformed the company
✔️ Why customer lifetime value matters more than single sales
✔️ Using AI and machine learning in healthcare
✔️ Personalized medicine and genomic testing
✔️ How doctors became an extension of the sales team
✔️ The role of customer feedback in product innovation
✔️ ADHD, entrepreneurship, and unconventional thinking

Len also shares lessons on:
✔️ Scaling healthcare technology companies
✔️ Building onboarding systems for clinics
✔️ Leveraging affiliate products for additional revenue
✔️ Creating feedback loops with customers
✔️ Why entrepreneurs should stop waiting for perfect execution

👉 Learn more about Len May and EndoDNA:
* EndoDNA's website: https://endodna.com/
* Len May on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lenmay/

📘 Hosted by Jeremy B. Shapiro, Author of Your Business Growth Playbook
https://yourbusinessgrowthplaybook.com/

Chapters
00:00 Profit Stuck at 10M
01:12 Len May Origins
02:29 Cannabis as Medicine
03:54 Early Hustles to Real Estate
05:36 Dispensary Opportunity
07:15 Genetics Lightbulb
09:21 Launching EndoDNA
10:30 Building the DNA Test
12:51 Patents and Global Growth
14:25 Marketing Shutdowns and COVID
15:46 Stuck Phase Breakdown
17:09 Doctor Call New Pivot
19:56 Practitioner Distribution Model
22:28 White Label Intel Inside
23:28 AI Platform for Doctors
26:01 Guardrails and Compliance
27:45 Getting Doctors to Commit
28:42 Charging For Utilization
29:36 Skin In The Game
30:24 Genomics To Shopping Cart
32:19 Affiliate Catalog And Feedback
33:59 B2B Pivot To Scale
36:06 Epigenetics Recurring Testing
39:25 Clinical Trials Data Flywheel
42:30 Neurodivergence As Advantage
46:43 KPIs Sales And Satisfaction
49:06 Rapid Fire And Wrap Up

Keywords: Len May, EndoDNA, Jeremy Shapiro, personalized medicine, genomics, healthcare AI, B2B growth, business strategy, direct to consumer, white label business, entrepreneurship, epigenetics, recurring revenue, functional medicine, startup growth

#entrepreneurship #BusinessGrowth #Healthcare #AI #Genomics #podcast

Want to be a guest on Your Business Growth Podcast? Send Jeremy Shapiro a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/your_business_growth_podcast

🔔 Subscribe for more conversations with founders, entrepreneurs, and business leaders sharing real lessons on growth, leadership, and building sustainable companies.

What happens when a business doing six-figure months is secretly collapsing behind the scenes?

In this episode of Your Business Growth Podcast, Jeremy Shapiro sits down with entrepreneur Jon Chintanaroad for a brutally honest conversation about scaling too fast, chasing vanity metrics, taking on massive debt, and rebuilding a business from the ground up.

Jon shares how he:
✔️ Left recruiting to start his own business
✔️ Scaled through coaching programs and paid ads
✔️ Joined high-level masterminds chasing “million-dollar months”
✔️ Took out a $350,000 SBA loan to keep the business alive
✔️ Ended up buried under nearly $800,000 in debt
✔️ Faced bankruptcy and devastating personal consequences

But this episode is also about recovery and rebuilding.

After the collapse, Jon completely changed his approach to business:
✔️ Lean operations
✔️ Profit-first financial systems
✔️ Organic LinkedIn marketing
✔️ Smaller, higher-quality client relationships
✔️ Lifestyle-focused entrepreneurship
✔️ Systems built around freedom and peace of mind

In this episode, we discuss:
✔️ Why revenue means nothing without profit
✔️ The dangers of copying “successful” business models blindly
✔️ How mastermind culture can create unhealthy pressure
✔️ The emotional toll of debt and entrepreneurship
✔️ Why many founders are secretly struggling financially
✔️ How organic content became his most reliable lead source
✔️ The power of simplicity and sustainable growth
✔️ Why boring businesses are often the healthiest businesses
✔️ The mindset shift from “more” to finding your sweet spot

This is one of the most transparent entrepreneurial conversations you’ll hear — packed with practical lessons for founders, agency owners, coaches, consultants, and anyone trying to build a sustainable business.

👉 Connect with Jon Chintanaroad :
• Recruiting Launch: https://recruitinglaunch.com/

📘 Hosted by Jeremy B. Shapiro
Author of Your Business Growth Playbook https://yourbusinessgrowthplaybook.com/

Chapters:
00:00 Debt-Fueled Cold Open
01:00 From Recruiter to Agency Owner
01:50 Internet Money and Group Coaching
05:03 Six-Figure Months and Smoke Mirrors
06:49 The Numbers Reveal the Cliff
07:49 SBA Loan Spiral to Bankruptcy
14:03 Living With Debt Anxiety
15:22 Family Reckoning and Therapy
19:30 Finding Your Sweet Spot
21:23 Guardrails Accountability and Profit First
24:43 Subscribe Break and Extra Life
25:21 Why Lean Beats Big Overhead
28:55 Cash Ads and Boring Business
30:41 Boredom Means Stability
32:00 Prove the Model First
32:43 Organic LinkedIn Engine
34:09 DIY Before Delegation
38:55 Authentic Brand Voice
42:36 Profit First Lifestyle Design
44:35 Sweet Spot Sales Calls
47:44 Hybrid Done For You Offer
53:41 Scorecards and KPIs
57:31 Rapid Fire Wrap Up

Keywords: Jon Chintanaroad , business bankruptcy, entrepreneurship lessons, SBA loan failure, business debt, Profit First, Jeremy Shapiro, recruiting business, organic marketing, LinkedIn outreach, coaching business, startup burnout, business turnaround, Your Business Growth Podcast

#Entrepreneurship #BusinessGrowth #Startup #ProfitFirst #Podcast #BusinessLessons

Want to be a guest on Your Business Growth Podcast? Send Jeremy Shapiro a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/your_business_growth_podcast

🔔 Subscribe for more conversations with founders, entrepreneurs, and business leaders sharing real lessons on growth, leadership, and building sustainable companies.