How to Build a Billion Dollar Firm and Walk Away on Top (w/ Eric Brotman) [TJp Ep43]

How to Build a Billion Dollar Firm and Walk Away on Top (w/ Eric Brotman) [TJp Ep43]

In this episode of The Journey, Leo sits down with Eric Brotman, chairman and chief growth officer of Brotman Consulting Group. Eric built a wealth management firm from zero to over $1 billion in assets under management (AUM), served on a $70 billion state pension board, and voluntarily stepped down as CEO while his firm was actively growing. Eric breaks down how he built a sustainable, collaborative "unicorn" firm by replacing the traditional commission-based model with an all-salaried team and a clear path to equity. He shares the psychology behind successful business transitions, why human behavior is the ultimate differentiator in wealth building, and what he learned about leadership while acting as "Switzerland" on a major government board. If you want to learn how to scale an organization that is designed to outlive you, this episode delivers. 👉 Highlights you will learn in this episode: 💸 Building a wealth management firm from zero to $1B+ AUM  🛡️ Why selling equity to your employees is your best defensive strategy  ❌ The "eat what you kill" agency model vs. building a collaborative ensemble  🎓 Creating a five-year apprenticeship track with an all-salaried advisory team  🧠 Why financial planning is a human psychology job, not a math job  🏛️ Lessons learned from managing a $70B pension board as "Switzerland"  📈 Capitalizing on the historic buyer's market for aging financial practices baton Passing the baton to a superstar successor when you hit your peak //Timestamps// 00:00 Building a Legacy: Eric Brotman's Journey 02:52 Creating a Sustainable Business Model 05:38 Innovative Employee Ownership and Incentives 08:25 The Importance of Culture in Financial Advisory 11:24 Navigating Career Transitions and Identity 14:15 The Human Element in Financial Planning 17:04 Financial Literacy and Its Challenges 20:04 Insights from the Maryland Pension Fund Board 23:26 Navigating Politics and Governance 27:47 Lessons from Government Experience 33:38 Strategic Growth and Mergers 38:56 The Future of Financial Advisory 41:09 Final Thoughts and Wisdom 🤝 Connect with Eric Brotman  https://www.linkedin.com/in/ebrotman/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ebrotman/] https://www.facebook.com/DontRetireGraduate/ [https://www.facebook.com/DontRetireGraduate/]  Book: https://noboringbooks.com/books/dont-retire-graduate-2/ [https://noboringbooks.com/books/dont-retire-graduate-2/]   Visit: https://brotmanmedia.com/ [https://brotmanmedia.com/]   👋 Connect with Leo https://www.linkedin.com/in/leo-young [https://www.linkedin.com/in/leo-young] https://www.instagram.com/leoyoungrealestate [https://www.google.com/search?q=https://www.instagram.com/leoyoungrealestate] Invest with us: https://tidycal.com/leoyoungrealestate/investor-alignment-call [https://www.google.com/search?q=https://tidycal.com/leoyoungrealestate/investor-alignment-call] 👍 Support the Show If this episode brought you value, please follow, rate, and share the podcast so more people can discover conversations like this. ⚠️ Disclaimer This podcast is for educational purposes only. It is not financial, legal, or tax advice. All investments carry risk. Always consult licensed professionals before making investment decisions. #Entrepreneurship #WealthManagement #BusinessTransition #SuccessionPlanning #Leadership #FinancialLiteracy #EnsemblePractice #CorporateCulture #TheJourneyPodcast #LeoYoung #EricBrotman #BrotmanConsulting #Don'tRetireGraduate #ScalingABusiness

How to Build Generational Wealth and Financial Freedom Through Marriage  (w/ Travis Parry) [TJP Ep42]

In this episode of The Journey, Leo sits down with Dr. Travis Parry, PhD in family relations, founder of Balance Growth Inc., and author of the number one bestseller Marry and Grow Rich. He has coached thousands of entrepreneurs across all 50 states on one core argument: your spouse is either your greatest business asset or your greatest liability. Most people never consciously choose which. Travis breaks down the psychology of money, why most wealthy families lose it by the third generation, and what it actually takes to build a legacy that outlasts you. This one goes deeper than most. 👉 What you'll learn:  🧠 Why your mind is your greatest business tool  💍 How your spouse's money psychology can make or break your wealth  💸 The four money scripts that quietly run your financial life  📉 Why the third generation loses what the first generation built  🏦 What a family bank is and how to use it to pass on more than money  🎯 Values, goals, and priorities: the framework for a lasting legacy  👨‍👩‍👧 How to coach your kids on money without raising entitled adults // Timestamps //  * 00:00 Introduction  * 00:33 Biggest lesson of the past year: the mind is your greatest tool  * 01:53 Travis's background from paper routes to financial psychology  * 04:28 Why money is behavioral and deeply subconscious  * 06:45 The four money scripts and where they come from 09:02 Money avoidance, money worship, and the abundance mindset  * 11:18 Real couple case study: divorce papers on the counter  * 13:38 When net worth becomes self-worth  * 15:41 How to rewire your money psychology  * 16:49 What legacy really means beyond the financial  * 18:03 The Millionaire Next Door and the immigrant generation pattern  * 19:47 The third generation trap: legacy vs. entitlement  * 21:25 Rockefellers vs. Vanderbilts and the lesson in between  * 21:43 Values, goals, and priorities: the framework for a balanced life  * 24:34 How couples align on money using a Venn diagram approach  * 25:56 Teaching children values without brainwashing them  * 27:48 Coaching your kids vs. being their friend  * 29:12 How to build a legacy that lasts for generations  * 31:07 Teaching logic and critical thinking at home  * 33:51 Why kids come to parents when there is real connection  * 35:09 The family bank: a structure for multi-generational wealth  * 37:58 How to connect with Travis and grab the book 👇 Get the Book (from Travis): If you want to build wealth and a legacy with your spouse on the same page, start here. 📖 Marry and Grow Rich: www.marryandgrowrichbook.com [http://www.marryandgrowrichbook.com] 🤝 Connect with Dr. Travis Parry  Website: travisparry.com [http://www.travisparry.com]   linkedin.com/in/travisparry/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/travisparry/]  👋 Connect with Leo  linkedin.com/in/leo-young [http://linkedin.com/in/leo-young]   instagram.com/leoyoungrealestate [http://instagram.com/leoyoungrealestate]   Invest with us: tidycal.com/leoyoungrealestate/investor-alignment-call [http://tidycal.com/leoyoungrealestate/investor-alignment-call]  👍 If this episode brought you value, follow, rate, and share. ⚠️ Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes only. Not financial, legal, or tax advice. All investments carry risk. Consult licensed professionals before making investment decisions. #Entrepreneurship #MoneyPsychology #LegacyPlanning #MarriageAndMoney #FamilyWealth #TheJourneyPodcast #LeoYoung #TravisParry #MarryAndGrowRich #GenerationalWealth #FamilyBank #MindsetMatters #WealthBuilding

How to Start a Business With No Experience and Scale It Into a Franchise (w/ Alisa Sparks) [TJP Ep41]

In this episode of The Journey, Leo sits down with Alisa Sparks, founder of Linden Creek, who went from managing multimillion dollar military budgets for the Navy and Marine Corps to building a 17-location home staging franchise with proprietary software, a feature in Architectural Digest, and a business that runs without her. She had no design degree, no sales experience, and a garage as her office. What she had was a military mindset, a creative itch, and the discipline to build systems in an industry that swore it couldn't be done. If you want to understand what it really looks like to build something that outlasts you, this episode delivers. 👉 What you'll learn:  🪖 From military finance contractor to home staging founder with no design degree  🏠 How staging a house she renovated sparked the entire business idea  📋 Building SOPs and systems in an industry that had none  🤝 How she attracts and keeps A players by being brutally honest about culture  🔄 Franchising an idea she originally said no to  ⏱️ The weekly time audit that changed how she runs her business  🧠 Working on the business vs. in it and how to know the difference  🎓 The best ROI she ever got: coaching that cost thousands and made hundreds of thousands // Timestamps //  00:00 Introduction  00:53 Biggest lesson of the past year: building a team of A players  01:44 How to attract A players and what culture fit really looks like  04:37 Transitioning from military contractor to entrepreneur 0 7:55 Building the business as a single mom and hiring out of necessity  09:32 The moment she realized her company ran without her  10:42 How franchising happened and why she almost said no  12:18 Building a network of business owners who get it  14:53 Why founders are the biggest bottleneck to their own growth  15:54 How she learns new skills including sales, HR, and AI  17:52 Delegating step by step and why a 300-page SOP is not enough  21:19 Running a franchise where you have never met your employees  22:17 How her military background shaped her systems-first approach  24:53 Common mistakes she coaches franchise owners through  27:38 The weekly time audit and how she optimizes her 24 hours  29:49 Working on vs. in the business and when to do both  31:06 Hiring before you are ready and using payroll as pressure  33:49 The hardest thing to delegate: charisma and customer care  36:11 One belief she had at 30 that she has since changed  37:07 Best investment with the highest unexpected ROI 🤝 Connect with Alisa Sparks Website:  Website: www.linden-creek.com Instagram: @lindencreek_ LinkedIn (Company): www.linkedin.com/company/linden-creek LinkedIn (Alisa Sparks): www.linkedin.com/in/alisasparkslc/ www.youtube.com/@LindenCreek  👋 Connect with Leo  linkedin.com/in/leo-young  instagram.com/leoyoungrealestate  Invest with us: tidycal.com/leoyoungrealestate/investor-alignment-call 👍 If this episode brought you value, follow, rate, and share. ⚠️ Disclaimer:  This podcast is for educational purposes only. Not financial, legal, or tax advice. All investments carry risk. Consult licensed professionals before making investment decisions. #Entrepreneurship #Franchising #HomeStaging #BusinessSystems #WomenInBusiness #TheJourneyPodcast #LeoYoung #AlisaSparks #LindenCreek #ScalingABusiness #MilitaryVeteran #Delegation #APlayers

How to Build, Scale, and Sell a Small Business for 7 Figures (w/ Ian Noble) [TJP Ep40]

Ian Noble spent 14 years inside a family dry cleaning business, starting by pressing clothes in 105-degree heat in a Texas summer. He eventually bought his father out, went seven figures into debt in his mid-twenties, scaled the operation to 14 locations and 95 employees, and then watched 85% of revenue disappear in a matter of days when COVID hit in March 2020. The reserves he had quietly been setting aside for years were the only thing that kept it alive. When the business came back, he sold it for seven figures in 2023. Now Ian is on the other side of the table. Through Run Steady Investments, he deploys capital into mobile home parks and private lending, and helps other business owners get into passive real estate for the first time. In this episode, Ian talks about: * How he thinks about vetting partners, and why he always invests his own money first before bringing anyone else in * What it actually took to survive COVID with 95 employees on payroll * Why he wishes he had let go of control sooner, and what holding on too long cost him * How his background as an operator changes the way he evaluates deals as an investor * Why mobile home parks make sense for business owners who want real estate exposure without the landlord headaches Ian is the kind of investor who built something real before he started allocating capital, and it shows in how he thinks about risk. If you're a business owner sitting on cash and wondering what to do with it, or you're trying to build something worth selling someday, this conversation is worth your time. // Timestamps //  00:00 Introduction  00:53 Biggest lesson of the past year: partnerships  01:21 How he vets partners and why he invests in them first  03:03 Playing investor before fund manager  05:03 Buying out his father and starting from the bottom  07:10 The daily reserve habit that survived COVID  09:30 Pivoting through COVID: delivery, wash & fold, restoration  12:56 Modernizing a legacy business from day one  14:19 Reviews, systems, and tripling profitability  17:27 Working in vs. on the business  19:16 AI and the future of small business  22:27 The emotional decision to sell  23:46 Removing himself as the bottleneck before the exit  25:48 Building a real estate portfolio while running a 90-person company  28:32 Why mobile home parks fit his post-exit philosophy  31:16 Helping business owners embrace passive investing  33:20 Debunking the mobile home park stigma  36:44 How to connect with Ian + free cheat sheet 38:03 Best advice he ignored too long 👇 Free Resource for Business Owners Curious About Passive Investing (from Ian): If you have ever wondered what it actually looks like to invest passively in real estate, I put together a cheat sheet that walks you through the whole process. What to expect, what to look for, and what a good deal looks like from the inside. 📋 Grab it here: https://go.runsteadyinvestments.com/the-journey-podcast [https://go.runsteadyinvestments.com/the-journey-podcast] 🤝 Connect with Ian Noble  www.runsteadyinvestments.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/iannoble1/ https://www.instagram.com/ian_invests [https://www.instagram.com/ian_invests] 👋 Connect with Leo  linkedin.com/in/leo-young  instagram.com/leoyoungrealestate  Invest with us: tidycal.com/leoyoungrealestate/investor-alignment-call 👍 If this episode brought you value, follow, rate, and share. ⚠️ Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes only. Not financial, legal, or tax advice. All investments carry risk. Consult licensed professionals before making investment decisions.

Scaling a Hardware Startup and Thinking Like an Entrepreneur (w/ Sam Berman) [TJP Ep39]

Sam Berman looked at a 4,000 year old industry built on wooden crates and decided to burn it down. In 2014, he founded Lark, a modular reusable crating and logistics platform, in California with no safety net, no co-founder yet, and no blueprint. When California made it too hard to build physical products, he moved to Tennessee, found a mechanical engineer from Vanderbilt, and started over. Today, Lark holds a patent in modular reusable crating systems and works with some of the largest companies in the world, including AI firms, aerospace companies, and hyperscalers. Along the way, Sam navigated personal loss, isolation, and every trial that comes with building something that has never existed before. He wrote about the psychology of surviving it in his book, The Militant Mind. In this episode, Sam gets into: * Why changing an industry isn't just about a better product, it's about overcoming thousands of years of legacy thinking * How he thinks about trust as the single most important factor in building a team * The difference between disruption and destruction, and why he only believes in one of them * What it takes to stay mentally sharp when everything is working against you * Why the least sexy companies are often the ones that quietly do the best Sam is the kind of founder who dropped out of college, lectured at universities anyway, and built a company that Fortune 500s call when they need a problem solved fast. If you're building something the world hasn't seen before, or you're trying to figure out how to keep going when the odds are stacked against you, this one is worth your time. // Timestamps // 00:00 Introduction to Sam Berman 04:00 Background, dropping out of college, and starting Lark 08:00 What to look for in co-founders and team members 13:00 When to hire and how to stay lean on purpose 16:00 How to attract and retain people without a big name 20:00 The bottleneck of credibility and how partnerships solve it 25:00 How the first email to Google defined Lark's entire market 29:00 Cold outreach at scale and how to get the big guys to respond 32:00 The Militant Mind and what the book is really about 37:00 Persistence vs. recklessness and how to know the difference 41:00 What Sam believed at 30 that he no longer believes 43:00 Disruption is dead and why creative destruction is the real game 46:00 How to connect with Sam and get your hands on the book 🤝 Connect with Sam Berman www.larc.co https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuelberman/ 👋 Connect with Leo LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leo-young Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leoyoungrealestate Invest with us: https://tidycal.com/leoyoungrealestate/investor-alignment-call 👍 Support the Show If this episode brought you value, please follow, rate, and share the podcast so more people can discover conversations like this. ⚠️ Disclaimer This podcast is for educational purposes only. It is not financial, legal, or tax advice. All investments carry risk. Always consult licensed professionals before making investment decisions. #Entrepreneurship #Founder #StartupLife #Innovation #BusinessGrowth #MilitantMind #LogisticsTech #TheJourneyPodcast #LeoYoung #SamBerman #CreativeDestruction #BuildingCompanies #MindsetMatters #Bootstrapped