Guest: Brandon Lee, Business Alignment Coach and Founder of Build By Design Host: Julie Riga Podcast: Stay On Course Podcast

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What if the real reason your business is not growing is not your strategy or your sales pitch? What if it is you, operating in the wrong role? In this episode of the Stay On Course Podcast, host Julie Riga sits down with entrepreneur Brandon Lee, who built a company to 18 million dollars and sold it to private equity. His secret was not hustle. It was one coaching question that changed how he showed up as a leader. Brandon now helps business owners stop letting their companies run them and start designing roles that fuel energy, ignite teams, and position them for profitable exits through his Build By Design system.

Brandon Lee is a multi-exit entrepreneur and business alignment coach. He has sold three companies and shut down two. His defining success was scaling a company to 18 million dollars and exiting through private equity. He is the creator of Build By Design, a three-phase system centered on leadership, role alignment, and culture.

Fun Fact: Brandon loves Mexican food. His go-to is a carne asada street taco with cilantro, onions, and fresh salsa. Every day is taco day.

The Question That Started Everything

Brandon built his first company to 2 million dollars. On the outside, success. On the inside, exhaustion. A coach in his second company asked him one question: "Do you want to own the company, or do you want to let the company own you?" That question gave him words for what he had been carrying for years and became the foundation of everything he now teaches.

The Energy Ratio Framework

Write down everything you actually do in your business. Divide those tasks into two columns: Energy Gainers, the work that excites you, and Energy Drainers, the work you dread. Most burned-out owners discover 60 to 70 percent of their work is in the drain column. Brandon calls this a ratio problem, not a role problem.

The Gap and the Map

The Gap identifies what needs to leave the owner's plate. The Map is a phased plan to delegate or outsource those tasks while respecting cash flow. The goal is a clear vision executed with intention.

The Three Pillars of Build By Design

• Alignment with Natural Wiring: Design your role around your strengths using tools like Myers-Briggs
• Leadership and Team Design: Help your team write the job descriptions they actually want and build around those
• Culture and Sustainable Growth: Create shared language, reduce conflict, and build a business that runs without you as the bottleneck

"Do you want to own the company, or do you want to let the company own you?"

"You do not have a role problem. You have a ratio problem in your work."

"People first is not soft. It is the best business strategy you can make for growth."

"Work should be fun. If we find alignment, it should be fun."

• Fix the role before optimizing the business model
• Your calendar is your real job description, not your title
• Role misalignment costs 7 to 15 percent of annual revenue per McKinsey
• A business that runs without you as the bottleneck is more valuable and sellable
• Leading from a full place transforms your team, your family, and your results

Brandon offers a free 15-minute assessment at brandonlee.me to help owners calculate their energy ratio. Most people experience immediate clarity upon completing it.

Connect to Brandon Lee

Website: brandonlee.me

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#StayOnCourse #PurposeDrivenLeadership #BusinessAlignment #LeadershipM

Guest: Matt Paradise, Author, Financial Wellness Speaker and Liver Transplant Survivor Host: Julie Riga

📌 Visit the Episode Stack: stacklist.app/julieriga | All the links, resources, and key information from this episode in one easy place.

From homeless teenager to award-winning author, Matt Paradise has empowered over 100,000 people to transform their relationship with money. As a liver transplant survivor and author of Financially Capable, Matt brings lived experience and expertise to this essential conversation. Host Julie Riga and Matt explore the emotional roots of money stress, the power of mindset, and the three core ingredients every leader needs to build whole health wealth and stay on course.

About the Episode

Matt went from homeless teenager to Board of Directors member of the Forbes number one top credit counseling agency. He is a trusted voice at Fidelity, Harvard University, and Mass General Hospital. His message: your money story began long before your first paycheck. Guilt, shame, and scarcity are not signs of failure. They are signals that deserve to be understood. This episode is about purpose, clarity, and the mindset shift that makes real financial wellness possible.

Guest Background

Matt Paradise is a financial wellness speaker, award-winning author, and liver transplant survivor with over 25 years in financial education. He has spoken at Fidelity, Harvard University, and Mass General Hospital. His favorite food is unagi, roasted eel in teriyaki glaze, a choice shaped by life as a transplant survivor who cannot eat raw fish.

The Three Ingredients for Whole Health Wealth

1. Stability Before Strategy Secure the foundation before chasing growth. Financial stress costs employers 1.1 trillion dollars per year in lost productivity. Leaders plan for the future while the foundation beneath them is still unstable. Fixing foundations before outcomes is not a step backward. It is the only sustainable path forward.

2. Hope with Structure Hope is the engine of forward momentum. As a homeless teenager not certain he would see age twenty, Matt learned that hope alone is not a plan. Structure, mentorship, and action transform hope into real results. Hope without structure is fantasy. Structure without hope is burnout.

3. Reduce the Noise The world is overloaded with AI tools, subscriptions, and digital input. Mental clarity is one of the most powerful leadership advantages available. The clearer the mind, the stronger the decisions. Matt encourages listeners to audit what they consume, who they listen to, and what they pay for. Less noise means more aligned leadership.

Key Insights

• First money memories shape financial behavior and leadership decisions into adulthood
• Guilt and shame are the most common emotions tied to money at any income level
• Scarcity is a mindset, not a bank balance
• Financial stress reduces human capacity and increases risk across industries
• Gratitude is rooted in contentment, not comparison

What Matt Is Working On

Matt is expanding his financial wellness work within the healthcare industry. As a cholangiocarcinoma survivor who received a life-saving liver transplant in 2019, he carries a personal commitment to the professionals who saved his life. He is dedicated to increasing human capacity and bringing hope to healthcare workers managing compassion and financial stress every day.

Connect with Matt Paradise Website: www.mattparadise.com | LinkedIn: Search Matt Paradise

Connect with Julie Riga Leadership coaching, transformation, and career fulfillment resources available through Julie Riga.

Stacklist: https://stacklist.app/julieriga

Subscribe to Stay On Course wherever you listen to podcasts and share this episode with a leader who needs to hear it.

#StayOnCourse #WholeHealthWealth #PurposeDriven #LeadershipMindset #FinancialWellness

📌 Visit the Episode Stack: stacklist.app/julieriga | All the links, resources, and key information from this episode in one easy place.

Guest: Ken Fay, Emmy Award-Winning Storyteller, Director and Creative Strategist Host: Julie Riga

What if the most powerful business tool you have is not a product, a pitch, or a platform? It is your story. In this episode, Emmy Award-winning storyteller Ken Fay joins Julie Riga to unpack the art and science of storytelling for purpose-driven leaders and entrepreneurs. Ken shares a cinematic framework that will change how you connect with your audience, lead your team, and grow your business with authenticity and lasting impact.

About This Episode

Ken Fay is an Emmy Award-winning storyteller, writer, and director who has spent his career helping brands, nonprofits, and leaders bring their most important ideas to life through compelling visual narratives. His work has earned numerous industry honors across the world. In this conversation, Ken shares the three essential ingredients of powerful storytelling and how purpose-driven leaders can use narrative to build authentic connections and accelerate meaningful business growth.

The Three Ingredients for Storytelling Success

The Setup is where you paint the picture. You introduce the faces, places, and spaces of your story. You tap into all the senses to build anticipation and presence. For business leaders, the setup reflects your mindset, your product, and your purpose-driven why. It is the foundation of every great narrative and the moment your audience leans in.

The Turn is the aha moment. It is the pivot where your audience shifts from intellectual understanding to emotional connection. This is the moment they say, "I get it. I want this." Teaching and storytelling share this same structure. Both lead an audience toward a shift in thinking, feeling, and belief. The turn is where hearts begin to open and minds begin to move.

The Transformation is when hearts and minds align. It is the moment your audience is changed by what they have experienced. In business, transformation creates raving fans and loyal clients who take action and tell others. In film, it is the tears, the laughter, and the deep feeling of wanting to return to that story again. This is the goal of every great narrative.

Key Insights

Ken shares the story behind his Emmy Award, a documentary about the healing that followed the Sandy Hook tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut. Rather than focusing on the event itself, he turned his lens toward comfort dogs, community conversations, and the quiet courage of people holding one another through grief. The real reward was not the award on stage. It was the personal messages from people who felt seen and deeply moved.

Ken also explores how the same framework applies to nonprofit storytelling. His experience with houseless communities during COVID shows that even difficult stories follow the same structure: setup, turn, transformation. The goal is always to move people from awareness to action and from seeing to doing.

Memorable Quotes

"Transformation is that moment your audience's heart and mind align. You have used the science and art of storytelling to motivate and move them."

"You went from words to feeling. That is the turn in your story."

"Go tell your story."

Connect with Ken Fay

LinkedIn: Ken Fay | Instagram: @KenFay1 | Website: belastrega.co | Email: krfcreatives@gmail.com

Connect with Julie Riga

Visit julieriga.com/lead to learn more about leadership coaching and transformation.

#StayOnCourse #Storytelling #PurposeDriven #LeadershipMindset #AuthenticGrowth

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Guest: Dr. Lori Smith | Government Contracting Expert, Serial Entrepreneur and Founder Host: Julie Riga

What does it truly mean to show up as your authentic best self every single day? In this powerful episode of the Stay On Course Podcast, host Julie Riga sits down with Dr. Lori Smith, a DBA-trained government contracting expert, serial entrepreneur, and advocate for women, minority, and veteran-owned small businesses. With over 40 years of leadership experience and a legacy built on radical self-honesty, service, and purpose-driven impact, Dr. Lori unpacks the real ingredients for success in leadership, business, and life. Whether you are a corporate executive, entrepreneur, veteran, or someone on a journey of authentic transformation, this conversation will challenge you to lead from your most honest and whole self.

Dr. Lori Smith is a DBA-trained government contracting expert, serial entrepreneur, and founder dedicated to helping women, minority, and veteran-owned small businesses win government work and build generational wealth. She has mentored more than 11,000 small businesses over a 40-year career. She serves as Co-Lead for the Georgia Women Veterans Board and Advisor to the North Georgia Women in Leadership Program.

Fun Fact: Dr. Lori is a proud veggie girl. Her most cherished food memory is her mother's lima beans, green beans, and collard greens.

1. Radical Self-Honesty Showing up as who you truly are in every room, every role, and every relationship is the foundation of authentic leadership. Trust is the currency of real leadership, and you cannot build a lasting legacy on a version of yourself that is not genuine or sustainable.

2. Consistent Micro Habits Small, intentional daily actions are the building blocks of transformation. Movement, reflection, and purposeful routines are not extras. They are the foundation of wholistic wellness and personal growth. Integrate these habits into your calendar the same way physical training was once built into military life.

3. Courageous Connections Asking for help is an act of strength, not weakness. Surrounding yourself with people who elevate your authentic growth is one of the most strategic leadership decisions you will ever make. Be discerning about who you allow into your inner circle and courageous enough to release what no longer aligns.

"We really have to start showing up from that honest place and being who we say we are all the time."

"You can still lead while you are still bleeding. You can still lead while you still need to heal."

"The goal for management should always be: I am developing you to replace me."

"Abundance comes in every aspect of life when you give from an authentic place."

• Radical self-honesty is the foundation of trust, impact, and legacy
• Micro habits compound into transformation when practiced with intention
• Courageous connections accelerate authentic growth and purpose-driven leadership
• Accountability with grace is the mark of true leadership presence
• Your energy is your leadership. Show up whole.

• LinkedIn: Dr. Lori Smith
• Podcast: GovCon Clarity with Dr. Lori Smith on Spotify, Buzzsprout, iTunes and iHeart
• Book: Rising Beyond the Shadows, releasing in May
• Coming Soon: The Readiness Room, a membership community for entrepreneurs

• Website: julieriga.com/lead
• Coaching: Leadership coaching and transformation with Julie Riga

#StayOnCourse #AuthenticLeadership #PurposeDriven #LeadershipMindset #LegacyBuilding

Subscribe to Stay On Course wherever you listen to podcasts. Share this episode with a leader who is ready to show up as their authentic best self.

Guest: Deborah C. Smith, Marketing Strategist and Holistic Business Coach Host: Julie Riga

What does it really take to build a signature offer that sells, scales, and sets you free? In this episode, Julie Riga sits down with Deborah C. Smith, a marketing strategist, holistic business coach, and host of the Mindset to Market Podcast, to break down four essential ingredients every purpose-driven entrepreneur needs to craft a one-of-a-kind offer. This conversation is your blueprint for intentional growth rooted in clarity, joy, and your unique story.

Deborah C. Smith is a marketing strategist and holistic business coach who helps purpose-driven entrepreneurs build simple marketing and sales systems that allow them to scale with ease. With two decades of self-employed experience, she hosts the Mindset to Market Podcast. Deborah and Julie met at PodFest, forming an instant friendship built on purpose and authentic leadership.

Fun Fact: Every morning, Deborah hard boils two eggs topped with green salsa hot sauce. Perfect, perfect breakfast.

Ingredient 1: Alignment with Your Unique Skills, Story, and Lived Experience

Your signature offer must be rooted in who you genuinely are. It is the intersection of your expertise, your journey, and your lived experience. The goal is to speak to your audience problem in a way that only you can. This is the foundation of authentic leadership and a personal brand built to last.

Ingredient 2: It Solves a Clear, Tangible, and Urgent Problem

Deborah introduces the house on fire analogy. When a house is burning, nobody hesitates. Your offer must speak to that same urgency. In online marketing, you have only seconds to capture attention, so you must speak to the right-now problem. People buy to get out of pain and move toward greater fulfillment.

Ingredient 3: A Simple, Repeatable Process

A signature offer is not a collection of skills. It is a system. A clear, step-by-step process is the key to your freedom as a business owner and your audience ability to trust what working with you looks like. Every service has a process behind it, and that is where your real value lives.

Ingredient 4: It Lights You Up

The most overlooked ingredient is joy. If your offer does not genuinely excite you, it will be nearly impossible to sell. Sales is energetic, built on relationships, trust, and authentic connection. Chase the thing that feels like your purpose, and the results will follow.

"A signature offer is not a random batch of skills. It is a very clear, compelling, and process-driven thing that you create yourself."

"If you love it, you will find you can sell anything on the internet."

"Sales is energetic. It is about relationships, trust, and connection."

• Clarity is the foundation. Get clear on your who, what, and why first.
• Solve what is urgent. Speak to the problem your audience feels right now.
• Build a repeatable system. A consistent process turns expertise into a scalable offer.
• Chase the joy. Your fulfillment is a business asset, not a luxury.
• Your story is your strategy. Own your lived experience because no one else can.

• Website: www.deborahcsmith.com
• Podcast: Mindset to Market Podcast
• Social Media: Instagram, LinkedIn, and all major platforms

• Website: julieriga.com/lead
• Coaching: Before I Lead program

#StayOnCourse #SignatureOffer #PurposeDriven #LeadershipMindset #EntrepreneurSuccess

Subscribe to Stay On Course wherever you listen to podcasts. Share with every purpose-driven entrepreneur ready to build something that truly matters.

What does cooking have to do with building a business? Everything. Julie Riga sits down with Sutton C. McCraney and Lace Flowers, co-founders of the Flavor Room, to explore how kitchen wisdom transforms the way leaders lead and grow. From curry goat to lamb biryani, this conversation is packed with purpose, authenticity, and real talk that leaders need. This episode is a masterclass in intentional, purpose-driven leadership.

Guests: Sutton C. McCraney and Lace Flowers, Co-Founders of The Flavor Room Host: Julie Riga

Lace Flowers is a British Jamaican home cook and co-founder of the Flavor Room and Empire Kitchen, based in South America, with over 18 years of research into what happens when foundational culture is missing inside organizations. Sutton C. McCraney is a U.S. Air Force veteran and entrepreneur based in Morocco whose background in discipline shapes her approach to building ecosystems rooted in equity. Favorite foods: curry goat for Lace, lamb biryani for Sutton.

The Flavor Room is an invite-only leadership ecosystem for founders and CEOs of color, not a coaching program, mastermind, or networking group. It is a curated space built on mutual benefit, high standards, and authentic connection, represented across five countries. The vision: bring your flavor, build your influence. No performance. Just authentic leaders showing up as themselves.

Sutton and Lace published "Legit: Redefining Equity, Leadership and Influence in Online Business," tackling the illusion of inclusion, ethics in sales and marketing, hidden systems such as care labor and access to resources, and the future of online business. Their findings produced the Legit Business Standards Framework, now deployed with business owners and organizations worldwide.

Clarity - You cannot prepare a meal without knowing what you are making. The same applies in business. Clarity does not come from endless planning. It comes from doing. Stop creating content in isolation. Start selling. Get the buy-in early and refine as you go.

"You do not get clarity from endless planning. You get clarity by doing." - Lace Flowers

Communication - Even a solo cook must communicate with themselves, their recipe, and their timing. In business, communication means clear systems so every team member knows what they are doing, when, and why. Clear communication creates cohesive results and satisfied people at the end of the table.

"The first person you need to communicate with effectively is yourself." - Lace Flowers

Consistency - Julie visited a different Outback Steakhouse and felt the drop in quality immediately. Consistency builds trust and creates a revolving door of repeat clients and referrals. People trust people they already trust, and that trust is earned one consistent interaction at a time.

"People trust people they already trust." - Lace Flowers

• Clarity is your foundation. Get clear on your vision and systems before anything else.
• Communication starts with yourself. Know your recipe, then share it with your team.
• Consistency builds legacy. The standard you maintain is what people return for.
• Authenticity outlasts ad budgets. Values and standards are your real competitive advantage.
• You are not in competition with anyone but yourself.

Website: www.theflavor.biz

Podcast: Fully Flavored Business Podcast on Spotify, Amazon, iHeart, and all major platforms. New episodes every Tuesday.

LinkedIn: Sutton C. McCraney and Lace Flowers.

Subscribe to Stay On Course wherever you listen to podcasts.

#StayOnCourse #LeadershipLessons #PurposeDrivenLeadership #FoundersOfColor #TheFlavorRoom