You can have the house, the car, the titles… and still wake up numb.

In this intimate conversation, third-generation entrepreneur and systems strategist Jennifer Bennett reveals how she went from “doing everything right” in real estate — high-ranking roles, multiple states, accolades, and a thriving career — to realizing the hustle model was quietly destroying her joy, her presence as a mom, and her sense of purpose.

Jennifer unpacks the real cost of high-performance culture, why so many entrepreneurs are silently burning out behind “success,” and how she and her mom created Get Desky — a movement designed to help overwhelmed founders stop carrying their business on their backs and start building with clarity, systems, and soul.

If you’ve ever wondered why having “everything on paper” still doesn’t feel like enough — or how to grow a business without sacrificing your marriage, your kids, or yourself — this episode is your invitation to redefine what success actually means.

Key Takeaways:

• How Jennifer’s earliest barroom hustle as a child revealed her natural entrepreneurial instincts
• The hidden education she got in real estate: becoming a connector, not just a salesperson
• The exact moment she realised the hustle model was numbing her life, even when everything looked perfect
• Why moms are the most underestimated workforce in business — and how Get Desky taps that potential
• How she’s building an incubator that supports healthy businesses and healthy marriages at the same time

Timestamps

• 00:00 – The tension between growth and freedom
  Junaid introduces Jennifer and sets up the real question: what if success costs too much?

• 01:32 – A little girl in a bar who asked for $1, not a quarter
  Jennifer’s first entrepreneurial memory and what it taught her about self-worth and asking for more.

• 03:53 – Lost in college, found in real estate
  Leaving school, stumbling into leasing, and discovering she loved explaining — not just selling.

• 07:25 – 16 years at the top… and the invisible cost
  Climbing to executive roles, leading 300 agents, juggling motherhood solo while her husband traveled.

• 08:20 – The hotel room moment: “I had everything… and felt nothing”
  The post-COVID awakening where Jennifer realised success without a spark isn’t success at all.

• 10:30 – Why moms are the most untapped strategic workforce on the planet
  How Get Desky began by hiring stay-at-home moms and what Jennifer saw that others missed.

• 14:45 – Building businesses that don’t destroy marriages
  Generational entrepreneurship, divorce statistics, and why Jennifer shifted from admin work to a soul-led incubator.

• 17:04 – Making the world better beyond labels
  Jennifer’s deeper mission: supporting teen and young moms, and choosing humanity over division.

Guest Links jen.getdesky.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jengben
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenbennettceo
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jengbennett/

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What if scaling your business didn’t cost you your family, your sanity, or your soul?

In this powerful part two, productivity strategist and founder of Get Desky, Jennifer Bennett, returns to dissect the how behind true entrepreneurial freedom. She shares how leaders can design their days, build teams they trust, and create systems that protect what matters most—family, health, and impact.

From hiring before you feel ready, to stopping the “spaghetti bowl” of chaotic delegation, to raising entrepreneurial kids who see more than one path in life, this conversation feels like a masterclass in both strategy and humanity. If you’re scaling on paper but silently drowning in decision fatigue, this episode is your permission slip to stop doing it alone—and start building a business that actually serves your life.

5 Big Takeaways Freedom isn’t just revenue – it’s time with family, doing work that lights you up, and serving the people you’re called to help.

• You don’t need to scale like everyone else – soulful scaling starts with your deepest desires, not someone else’s playbook.
• If you’re overwhelmed, you waited too long to get help – and if help isn’t working, it’s either training, culture, or the wrong person.
• The “spaghetti bowl” of tasks destroys teams – without SOPs and clear systems, delegation turns into chaos and resentment.
• Curiosity is a legacy system – modeling entrepreneurship, networking, and questioning the “one path” narrative can change your kids’ lives.

Timestamps

• 00:00 – Redefining Freedom for Founders
  What freedom really means for Jennifer’s clients: time, joy, and impact—without losing the business.

• 02:27 – Soulful Scaling vs. Hustle Scaling
  Why you don’t have to scale like everyone else, and how Jennifer’s family-first values shape her business model.

• 04:30 – Raising Entrepreneurial Kids in the Real World
  Bringing her daughter to events, learning networking, pricing, and marketing through selling bookmarks.

• 06:36 – Leading Teams with Soul
  How understanding someone’s “why” helps you inspire, motivate, and build a culture that actually supports people.

• 08:53 – When High Performers Secretly Drown
  A message to the founder who’s crushing revenue but stuck in decision fatigue and silent overwhelm.

• 10:58 – The Spaghetti Bowl of Bad Delegation
  Why throwing every hated task at a new hire without SOPs leads to chaos, fractures, and broken communication.

• 14:33 – Fishing, Horses & the Systems We Wish We Had Sooner
  Jennifer’s surprising hobbies, how she connects them to presence, and the system she’d give her 10-year-old self.

Guest Links

jen.getdesky.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jengben
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenbennettceo
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jengbennett/

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most founders are obsessed with “new customers” and blind to the fortune sitting in their existing list.

In this episode of Hacks and Hobbies, Junaid sits down with Nikita Vakhrushev, founder of Aspect Agency and retention specialist for over 100+ direct-to-consumer brands, to expose the hidden systems that turn casual buyers into lifelong customers. If you’ve ever felt guilty about “not emailing your list enough” or wondered why your campaigns don’t translate into real revenue, this conversation will flip the way you think about email, SMS, and retention forever.

Nikita breaks down why “set it and forget it” is killing your profitability, the real difference between campaigns and lifecycle marketing, and how to think about retention as a revenue engine, not a “nice-to-have” side project. From customer psychology and buyer journeys to plain-text emails that quietly print money, this episode is a roadmap for founders who are ready to stop leaking profit and start building a brand people return to again and again.

• Retention is a system, not a sequence – your emails, SMS, logistics, and customer service all sit inside one “bucket” that either keeps customers… or leaks them.
• “Set it and forget it” is a myth – even your best automations must be tested, reordered, and optimized through constant A/B testing and experimentation.
• Lifecycle beats campaigns – top brands map messaging to where the customer is in their journey: unaware, problem-aware, solution-aware, company-aware, and product-aware.
• Design is great, but plain text quietly wins – personal, text-only emails often outperform designed newsletters because they feel human and deliver better.
• The future of agencies is data, not headcount – AI will write copy and design emails; the agencies that win will be those with the deepest, cleanest performance data.

5 Key Takeaways Timestamps

• [00:00] The Real Cost of Ignoring Retention
  Why brands are leaving $200–400k a year on the table by neglecting email and SMS.

• [03:44] The Death of “Set It and Forget It”
  Nikita explains why automations must be actively maintained, tested, and reordered to keep revenue growing.

• [08:24] Campaigns vs. Lifecycle: The Shift That Changes Everything
  How understanding customer awareness stages (from unaware to company-aware) transforms your retention strategy.

• [11:25] Designing a Customer Journey That Actually Converts
  From welcome flows to abandonment sequences: building belief in your brand step by step.

• [15:53] The Anatomy of a Great Retention System
  The people, processes, and platforms you need: strategist, designer, copywriter, and why Klaviyo dominates Shopify stores.

• [23:01] Metrics That Actually Pay the Bills
  Why open rates and CTR don’t matter if they don’t translate into revenue, LTV, and dollars-per-subscriber.

• [31:17] AI, Agencies, and the Future of Retention
  How AI will reshape agencies into data centers—and what smart brands should be doing right now to future-proof.

• [33:35] Overwhelmed? Do This One Thing This Week
  Nikita’s simple, plain-text email play any founder can send to generate revenue immediately.

Guest Links Website:
https://aspektagency.com/
Social Media Links:
instagram.com/nikitavakhrushv
linkedin.com/in/nikita-v
twitter.com/nikitavakhrushv
youtube.com/@nikitavakhrushevtv

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most brands think they need more traffic. Nikita says they’re already sitting on a goldmine.

In this episode, email & SMS strategist Nikita Vakhrushev, founder of Aspect, breaks down how direct-to-consumer brands are quietly leaving $200,000–$400,000 a year on the table by ignoring the “boring” retention channels: email and SMS. After helping over 100 DTC brands and turning broken automations into $40,000/month profit engines, Nikita reveals why the real leverage isn’t in your next ad campaign—it’s in how you follow up.

Junaid and Nikita go deep into the exact flows, systems, and mindset shifts that separate brands who coast from brands who compound. If you’ve ever wondered why your Klaviyo is “set up” but not really printing money, this episode is your wake-up call.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How Nikita turned a failing email setup into $40k/month in just a few months
• The core email & SMS flows every brand needs (and how most are set up wrong)
• Why constant discounting destroys your brand and your margins
• How to prepare for Black Friday/Cyber Monday like it’s the Super Bowl of retention
• What a real retention flywheel looks like when email, SMS, and paid traffic finally work together

Timestamps

[00:00] The email guy who never planned to run an email agency
How Nikita went from running his own Shopify store to building Aspect, an email & SMS agency for DTC brands.

[04:41] The $1k to $40k/month turnaround: rebuilding a broken backend
The “Good, Clean Love” case study that proved the pivot to email/SMS was a 7-figure decision.

[07:31] Where the missing $200k–$400k a year is really hiding
Nikita breaks down the silent killers in most accounts: bad timing, weak follow-up, and unoptimized list growth.

[11:46] The non-negotiable flows every brand must have (but most mess up)
From welcome flows to four layers of abandonment and post-purchase—Nikita maps the essential retention spine.

[16:27] The first system to build for a $50k/month brand with zero retention
Why list growth and a “mystery offer” opt-in beat clever design and complex funnels.

[20:41] Proactive vs. passive brands: who actually wins with agencies
The behavioral difference between brands that explode and those that stagnate, even with the same strategy.

[22:59] The dangerous myth: more sales ≠ more profit
How constant discounting trains your customers to never pay full price and slowly kills your margins.

Key Takeaways

• Your email list is “owned land” — and most brands are farming it like a hobby garden. Nikita argues that while ads live on rented land, email and SMS are where you build durable, compounding revenue.
• One case study changed everything: rebuilding a client’s automations took them from “a couple hundred dollars” to ~$40,000/month in email revenue, purely from their existing list.
• Flows matter more than blasts. Welcome, abandonment (site, product, cart, checkout), post-purchase, cross-sell, win-back, and sunset flows form the backbone of serious retention. Most brands “have” them—but set up in a way that quietly loses money.
• Discounting is a trap. Constant sales don’t just crush margins; they rewire your customers to only buy on discount and to treat the “sale price” as the real price. Value-driven, objection-crushing emails win long term.
• Black Friday/Cyber Monday is a system, not an event. The best brands start in July, test through Q3, warm their list, run VIP presales, and turn Q4 into the make-or-break recovery quarter—with email doing the heavy lifting.

Guest Links Website:
https://aspektagency.com/
Social Media Links:
instagram.com/nikitavakhrushv
linkedin.com/in/nikita-v
twitter.com/nikitavakhrushv
youtube.com/@nikitavakhrushevtv

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are your stories changing lives—or quietly causing harm?

In this powerful conversation, nonprofit messaging strategist Maria Bryan returns to go deeper into trauma‑informed storytelling—and why every marketer, nonprofit leader, and creator needs to rethink how they collect and share stories. If you’ve ever shared a client story, testimonial, or case study “for the cause,” this episode will challenge you—in the best possible way.

Maria explains how to move from well‑meaning to well‑practiced: embedding safety, consent, and dignity into every stage of your storytelling workflow. From fundraising campaigns to podcast interviews, she breaks down practical steps to reduce harm, protect the people behind the stories, and protect yourself from vicarious trauma. Whether you’re a nonprofit leader, creative, or solo podcaster, you’ll walk away with a new lens on your work—and a clear path to doing it more ethically and sustainably.

5 Key Takeaways

• Why trauma-informed storytelling matters even if you’re “just” a marketer, podcaster, or creative—and how stories can unintentionally retraumatize the very people you want to help.
• How to audit your storytelling workflow from “we need a story” to “the story is live,” and where to build in more safety, agency, and consent.
• The danger of relying on simple checklists—and how to use them wisely without missing hidden risks, like revealing locations or sensitive details.
• How to recognize and prevent vicarious trauma as a storyteller, interviewer, or host who regularly holds space for hard stories.
• Practical tools for teams, contractors, and solopreneurs, including training, onboarding assets, and free resources to start your trauma-informed journey today.

Timestamps

• [00:00] Why trauma-informed storytelling can’t be done in a silo
• [01:17] From “we need a story” to “it’s live”: auditing your storytelling workflow
• [03:21] Building safety and agency into interviews (and why 20 minutes isn’t enough)
• [05:00] Checklists, AI, and internal trainings: creating a trauma-informed culture
• [07:09] Spotting red flags and story risks beyond the obvious “don’ts”
• [09:45] Onboarding freelancers and partners into trauma-informed practices
• [10:29] Vicarious trauma: why storytellers must protect their own nervous system
• [12:23] Ethical self-storytelling and honoring your own trauma
• [12:53] Free toolkit, trainings, and the Storytelling Circle for ongoing support
• [13:50] Maria’s final message: why storytellers are world-changers

Guest Links – Maria Bryan

• Website & Free Trauma-Informed Storytelling Toolkit:
  https://www.mariabryan.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What if the way you tell stories is quietly harming the very people you want to help?

In this episode, Junaid Ahmed sits down with Maria Bryan, a trauma-informed storytelling trainer and host of the When Bearing Witness podcast. Maria has trained thousands of nonprofit leaders, fundraisers, and storytellers to share stories that inspire change without exploitation, re-traumatization, or stripping people of their dignity.

Together they unpack how traditional nonprofit and marketing storytelling—especially “success stories” and testimonials—can unintentionally cause deep harm, and what it really looks like to tell stories rooted in safety, consent, and agency. From rethinking “we need hundreds of stories a year” to creating harm repair plans and no-questions-asked takedown policies, this conversation is a blueprint for anyone who interviews, fundraises, or shares lived-experience stories.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How trauma-informed storytelling radically differs from traditional marketing and fundraising stories
• Why telling fewer stories, more slowly and more thoughtfully, can actually increase impact and trust
• The subtle ways nonprofits and podcasters accidentally remove safety and agency from story owners
• Practical steps to make interviews, testimonials, and campaigns ethically and emotionally safer
• How to design organizational systems, consent processes, and harm repair plans that respect story owners for years after publication

Key Timestamps

• [0:00:22] – What is trauma-informed storytelling?
  Maria explains how nonprofit stories can help or harm, and why traditional “impact stories” need a complete rethink.

• [0:03:35] – The hidden cost of telling hundreds of stories a year
  Why nonstop demand for “fresh stories” can burn trust, re-open wounds, and what to do instead.

• [0:05:46] – Safety & agency: two pillars everyone forgets
  Concrete examples of how organizations unintentionally strip choice, autonomy, and safety from story owners.

5 Big Takeaways

• Trauma-informed storytelling starts with who the story is for and who it belongs to.
  Story owners are often people who’ve experienced housing insecurity, violence, addiction, or other hardship. Asking them to revisit their worst moments for a campaign is not neutral—it has emotional and physical consequences.

• Volume is the enemy of care.
  Nonprofits conditioned to believe they need “dozens or hundreds of fresh stories a year” often ignore trauma-informed processes. Slowing down, repurposing content, and using anonymous or composite stories can protect people while still raising money.

• Safety and agency are non-negotiable.
  From sharing clear goals for the story, to offering choices about interview format, location, and interviewer identity, every step should be designed to give back control to the story owner.

• Consent is not a one-time signature—it’s an ongoing relationship.
  Story owners should know where their story will appear, how it may be reused, and have the ability to review, correct, or retract. A no-questions-asked takedown policy is a hallmark of ethical storytelling.

• Being trauma-informed is a journey, not a checklist.
  Organizations and agencies must build systems: story readiness checks, multi-person review, cultural and health literacy review, and harm repair plans for when (not if) mistakes are made.

Guest Link – Maria Bryan https://www.mariabryan.com/

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If your life feels successful on the outside but empty, chaotic or exhausted on the inside, this episode is for you.

In this conversation, Junaid Ahmed sits down with Irina Alexander – a high-performance coach who blends neuroscience, leadership, and ancient wisdom – to unpack what it really takes to stop living on default and start living by conscious choice.

Irina shares how she burned out as a driven business owner and mother, the moment she realized her “normal” was actually toxic, and the exact inner work she used to rewire her brain, heal from autopilot patterns, and build a life that feels aligned at a soul level. You’ll learn her 3P method (pause, pull back, physical scan), how to integrate what you know into how you actually live, and why small 1-degree shifts can completely change the trajectory of your life.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re smart, capable, and high-performing—but still not at peace—this episode will show you a new way forward.

5 Big Takeaways

• Awareness is the real starting line – Change begins when you honestly admit, “This isn’t working for me,” without judgment or shame.
• The 3P method to break old patterns – Pause, Pull Back, Physical Scan gives you a simple, in-the-moment way to stop reacting and start choosing.
• Knowledge isn’t power without integration – Reading books and collecting insights is useless unless you practice them in the messiness of real life.
• Small shifts create massive life reroutes – A consistent 1-degree change in your habits and beliefs can lead you to a totally different “destination” over time.
• Community can make or break your growth – Surrounding yourself with people on the same path is essential if you want to escape the “crabs in a bucket” effect.

Timestamps

• [00:00] Rewiring your brain: living by choice, not default
• [02:15] Is this really a problem for you? The first honest question
• [08:26] Burnout disguised as “normal” – Irina’s breaking point
• [14:48] The 3P method: pause, pull back, physical scan (do this today)
• [20:28] Communication that doesn’t backfire: what people actually need
• [21:39] Afraid of change? Why 1-degree shifts are more powerful than “radical” moves
• [25:21] Anything is possible: rewiring belief systems, science and soul

Guest Links – Irina Alexander Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/irina.alexander.7
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/your_favorite_russian_/
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/irinaalexander/
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@Life-By-Choice
Website – https://motivaction.academy/
TikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@motivaction.academy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What if 95% of your life is being run by programs you didn’t choose?

In this episode of Hacks and Hobbies, Junaid Ahmed sits down with Irina Alexander, professional mental trainer and founder of the Academy of Motive, Action. With 20 years in neuroscience, entrepreneurship, and global wisdom traditions, Irina has helped hundreds of high-stress professionals step out of autopilot, dismantle hustle culture, and rebuild a life that actually feels like their own.

Irina shares the moment she broke down on the highway, called her mother, and realised the successful life she’d built… wasn’t actually hers. From selling a thriving business to redefining success as soul-aligned living, she walks us through the inner rewiring required to move from obligation, burnout, and busyness into clarity, courage, and conscious choice. If you feel like you’re doing “all the right things” yet still feel empty, this conversation is a wake-up call.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How your subconscious is programmed before age seven—and why it’s not too late to change it
• The single most powerful parenting shift Irina made to raise conscious, connected kids
• The breaking point moment where she realised her “successful” life was silently burning her out
• Why motivation is never enough—and the “choice, change, action” framework she uses with clients
• How to start saying yes to yourself, your soul, and your curiosity without burning your life down

Timestamps

[00:00] The Setup: Why Your Life Might Be Running on Default Settings
Junaid opens the episode and introduces Irina’s work on subconscious programming, burnout, and mental mastery.

[02:11] How Your Childhood Wires Your Adult Life (And What That Means for Your Kids)
Irina explains how subconscious programs are installed before age seven—and why awareness still gives you power as a parent.

[04:58] “You Can’t Parent Your Kids, Only Yourself” – Radical Parenting Reframe
Irina shares her philosophy on modelling over lecturing, quality over quantity, and the monthly “dates” she takes with her daughters.

[07:46] The Breakdown on the Highway: When Success Stops Feeling Like Success
Irina recounts calling her mother, walking away from 60–80 hour weeks, and realising she was living for obligation, not desire.

[10:06] What Would You Do If You Weren’t Afraid?
The terrifying questions Irina asked herself before deciding to sell her company and rewrite her life.

[12:15] Choice. Change. Action. The Framework for Rewiring Your Life
How Irina blends neuroscience and soul work into a simple, brutally honest process for real transformation.

[13:10] Saying Yes to Life Again: Curiosity, Self-Investment & Letting Go of Judgment
From personal development training to reconnecting with friends, Irina shares how she rebuilt her life from the inside out.

Key Takeaways

• We live 95–97% of our lives on autopilot, driven by subconscious and unconscious programming formed in early childhood.
• Your kids don’t do what you say, they do what you do—the most powerful parenting is self-parenting and self-awareness.
• Burnout often hides behind “success”: external achievement can mask deep misalignment, exhaustion, and a lost sense of self.
• Motivation fades—discipline and aligned action don’t. Irina’s “choice, change, action” model turns awareness into transformation.
• Curiosity without judgment is a superpower: giving yourself permission to explore, question, and invest in yourself is where rewiring truly begins.

Guest Links Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/irina.alexander.7
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/your_favorite_russian_/
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/irinaalexander/
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@Life-By-Choice
Website – https://motivaction.academy/
TikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@motivaction.academy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What if the only rule you followed was to never have a 0% day?

In this powerful conversation, host Junaid Ahmed sits down with high-performance coach and entrepreneur Jake Smolarek, who arrived in the UK with just £150 and went on to build multiple successful businesses. This isn’t about hacks or hype. It’s about the brutal honesty, discipline, and obsession required to build a life you’re proud of.

Jake breaks down his core frameworks — No 0% Days, the 10-80-10 rule, and a preview of his Vision GPS system — and shows how ordinary people with families, full-time jobs, and limited time can still build something extraordinary. From why we keep promises to others but break them to ourselves, to how to treat your side hustle like a plane taking off at 100% thrust, this episode will challenge the way you think about discipline, success, and what you’re truly capable of.

You will not see your “busy schedule” the same way after this.

Key Takeaways:

• Why moving to the UK with £150 forced Jake to redefine risk, ownership, and what really matters
• The mindset behind never having a 0% day and what a real 1% win looks like on your worst days
• How we lie to ourselves about “passions” like travel, and the brutal truth your calendar reveals
• Why everyone needs a coach, and how mentors and even unsuccessful people can speed up your success
• The difference between having a business and building a profitable one, and why obsession is non-negotiable

Timestamps

• [00:01:45] The £150 leap – Why Jake left everything behind and moved to the UK with almost nothing
• [00:03:44] Discipline is not a mood – The real reason we keep promises to others but not to ourselves
• [00:07:01] Why everyone needs a coach – The power of outside feedback and learning from failure
• [00:12:34] No 0% Days explained – How to win even on your worst days and why “wishes” aren’t goals
• [00:16:27] What a 1% win looks like – Turning “I did nothing” days into small but crucial progress
• [00:18:23] Obsession, madness, and being number one – Why you must dominate your niche, not just participate
• [00:20:30] Side hustles, families, and time – Applying No 0% Days when you have a job, kids, and a full life

Guest Links https://jakesmolarek.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakesmolarek/
https://www.instagram.com/jakesmolarek/
https://www.facebook.com/jake.lucas.smolarek
https://www.tiktok.com/@jakesmolarek

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most people don’t fail because they’re lazy. They fail because they get lost in the middle.

In this raw and practical conversation, Junaid sits down with high‑performance coach Jake Smolarek to dismantle the myths around success, discipline, and “luck.” Jake introduces his powerful 1080/10 framework and Vision GPS, revealing why the middle 80% of any journey—the boring, lonely, repetitive part—is exactly where champions are made and everyone else quits.

If you’ve ever felt stuck, started strong and faded, or secretly feared both failure and success, this episode will give you a new roadmap. You’ll learn how to think in decades, build systems that work when you sleep, and develop the kind of discipline that quietly turns you into “the lucky one” everyone talks about.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

• Why the first 10% and last 10% are easy—and how the messy middle 80% actually creates your future
• The 1080/10 sequence: learn → practice → master → become a legend (and why you can’t skip steps)
• How to build a Vision GPS using vision, goals, a planning process, and systems that run 24/7
• The truth about fear of failure vs. fear of success and how they lead to self‑sabotage
• Why discipline is a muscle, and the small daily actions that create long‑term freedom

Timestamps

• 00:00 – The real reason most people stay stuck
• 01:00 – The 1080/10 Rule: where success is actually built
• 05:35 – The dark tunnel: surviving the hardest 20% of the 80%
• 10:14 – “You’re so lucky”: the story that exposes what luck really is
• 15:06 – Vision GPS: vision, goals, planning process and systems
• 20:26 – Fear of failure vs. fear of success and self‑sabotage
• 24:40 – Discipline as freedom: how to start when you’re scared and stay consistent

Guest Links https://jakesmolarek.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakesmolarek/
https://www.instagram.com/jakesmolarek/
https://www.facebook.com/jake.lucas.smolarek
https://www.tiktok.com/@jakesmolarek

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most entrepreneurs are not failing because of their product… they’re failing because of their numbers.

In this episode of Hacks and Hobbies, Junaid sits down with Paden Squires, founder of Squires Tax Planning, who has quietly helped business owners save tens of thousands of dollars and rebuild their relationship with money. This isn’t a “tax tips” episode. It’s a deep dive into identity, behavior change, and the simple financial habits that separate stuck founders from those who compound wealth year after year.

Paden shares how Ray Dalio’s “Principles”, radical transparency, and his own philosophy of integrity and alignment shape the way he coaches entrepreneurs. From saving a client $30,000+ in taxes with a few structural moves, to spotting patterns in thousands of tax returns, Peyton reveals how the real unlock isn’t a secret loophole—it’s the willingness to face your numbers, do the work, and change who you are as a business owner.

If your finances feel overwhelming, confusing, or “not your thing,” this conversation will show you where to start, what to focus on, and why tiny daily decisions with money are the real superpower.

5 Key Takeaways

• Radical transparency beats guesswork – borrowing from Ray Dalio, open dialogue and honest feedback lead to better financial decisions.
• Identity comes before strategy – real financial growth starts when founders decide to change who they are, not just what they do.
• Emotion drives most money decisions – childhood money stories often control your financial behavior more than spreadsheets do.
• Small daily wins compound into wealth – tiny, consistent actions with your finances matter more than big, one-off moves.
• Avoiding your numbers is the real risk – sticking your head in the sand with money only delays the pain; transparency and feedback are the way out.

Timestamps

• [00:00] The boring secret behind business success: why principles matter more than tactics
• [01:06] Ray Dalio, radical transparency, and how hedge fund thinking applies to small business
• [03:31] Peyton’s core principle: integrity, alignment, and being the same person in every room
• [04:23] Why smart people make “illogical” money decisions (and how childhood shapes your finances)
• [06:02] The $30,000 tax win: a simple structural shift that most accountants never look for
• [08:21] The identity shift of a founder: from chain-smoking construction worker to ultra-runner and 4x revenue
• [10:52] Small daily financial habits, using AI on your statements, and where to start when you feel overwhelmed

Guest Links Website: https://www.squirestaxplanning.com
Personal Site: https://www.padensquires.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/padensquires
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089855132002
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paden-squires-cpa-cfp-19681a1a
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PadenSquires
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/behind-their-success-advice-for-entrepreneurs/id1723352366
Spotify Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/2sXtqL6QHmDykXRJRFX71W?si=1760bcbc08dc4130&nd=1&dlsi=a1622ac901c2497a

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices