Most conversations about wealth stop at numbers.

This one does not.

In this episode of The Scaling Podcast, Aaron sits down with Christopher Mackin to explore how wealth, energy, identity, and decision-making intersect over a long career.

They unpack what happens when financial success outpaces personal alignment, how over-optimization can quietly erode health and relationships, and why many high performers eventually realize that money alone is not the finish line.

This is a grounded conversation about building wealth with intention, navigating major life transitions, and redefining success beyond hustle culture.

If you are an entrepreneur, operator, or business owner thinking long term, this episode will challenge how you think about money and what it is actually for.

Timestamps

00:00 Welcome and Christopher's background in wealth management
03:30 Discovering the missing piece beyond financial success
06:20 Energy, money, and how people relate to wealth
09:20 Spiritual experiences and shifting perspective
13:00 Burnout, overworking, and the cost of chasing growth
15:30 Stepping away from the CEO role and redefining success
18:45 Time and energy as business resources
23:00 Writing a personal life operating plan
27:30 Separating personal identity from public business roles
32:00 The concept of "enough" and why more is rarely the answer
36:15 Astrology, intuition, and expanding belief systems
40:30 What Reiki is and how Christopher uses it daily
44:20 Health, healing, and non-traditional approaches
47:20 How energy work influenced client relationships
50:30 Working with founders, exits, and family wealth
54:30 Wealth inheritance and responsibility across generations
58:00 Values-based investing and intentional capital deployment
01:02:00 Money, relationships, and communication
01:05:20 Preparing the next generation for wealth
01:09:20 Guardrails, planning, and long-term stewardship
01:12:30 Final reflections on conscious wealth

In this episode of The Scaling Podcast, Aaron Harper sits down with Tony Hilbert — CEO of Horsepower Brands — to break down how they grew from a single roofing brand to 9 franchise brands and 400+ owners in under five years.

Tony shares his journey from CPA → CFO → franchise multi-unit operator, the collapse of a 68-location chain, the resilience lessons that shaped him, and the blueprint Horsepower uses to launch & scale home-service franchises at record speed.

Brooke Budke opens up about the real challenges of leading a franchise brand. She explains the pressure, the criticism, the emotional weight, and the constant responsibility that comes with supporting owners and their families.

This episode explores leadership at a deeper level. Brooke shares what she learned through rapid growth, identity shifts, becoming brand president during the most difficult season of her career, and rebuilding her life as a founder and parent.

You will hear her perspective on communication, culture, clarity, personal reinvention, and the internal noise that leaders face when everyone has an opinion about every decision. She explains her journey with honesty and experience, and the result is a conversation that leaves you with a clearer view of what leadership demands.

This episode is for anyone navigating growth, change, or a new season of responsibility. It is a conversation grounded in experience and focused on real lessons from a leader who has lived through both success and personal transformation.

0:00 In person introduction in Brentwood TN
00:47 Starting at Title Boxing at age 30
01:53 Early challenges stepping into a leadership role
03:55 Everyone disliked the marketing team
06:18 Rebranding and early operational chaos
08:25 Understanding the thirty five year old female consumer
10:06 Helping franchisees communicate with their audience
11:24 Why communication determines long term results
11:46 Handling criticism and internal pressure
12:19 Mindset structure and decision making
14:11 Human needs and franchisee conflict
16:25 Leading with clarity and kindness
17:40 The emotional weight of leading a brand
18:08 Why no one has your exact vantage point
18:39 Why franchising feels personal to every owner
19:15 Becoming brand president and navigating shutdowns
20:27 Solving problems with limited resources
22:09 Resetting identity after a company sale
23:14 Separating personal identity from the business
24:45 Removing yourself from roles that limit growth
27:16 Creating a personal operating structure
28:01 Using conviction to solve business problems
29:31 Evolving from founder to leader
30:25 Attracting the right partners
31:19 Selecting the right franchisees from the beginning
32:50 Moving from zero units to three hundred
37:01 Step parent life IVF and purpose
37:56 A one in a million pregnancy journey
40:09 Why people remain in familiar situations
41:28 Choosing yourself and choosing your family
43:24 Launching Momentum Brands during pregnancy
46:02 Coaching founders and emerging brands
47:46 Brand profiles and common challenges
50:08 The value of recurring revenue
51:12 Leadership habits that influence brand performance
54:28 How founders create their own barriers
59:04 Micro habits of successful operators
01:12:25 Training product and building alignment
01:29:01 Using content as leverage
01:42:13 Breaking limiting beliefs around social platforms
01:47:08 Closing thoughts and gratitude

In this episode, Aaron sits down with entrepreneur and operator Adam House to break down the real journey behind scaling multiple companies — from early exits to navigating Series A/B fundraising, rebuilding identity after stepping away as CEO, and the power of authentic content in franchising.Adam shares stories from his earliest ventures, including selling his first company right before the financial crisis, launching a mobile tech company acquired in just 18 months, and building a health-care analytics platform from a literal napkin sketch.They also dive deep into the seasons of entrepreneurship, the realities of capital raising, and how personal brand strategy took franchise lead flow from 7% to 42% in a single year.

Aaron Harper sits down with Empower CEO Scott Zide to explore how the company scaled from its early roots to over $1.5 billion in systemwide franchise sales.

Scott shares his journey from being a 23-year-old franchisee to leading one of the largest multi-brand platforms in the industry. They break down Empower's approach to incubating vs. acquiring, what makes great franchisees, and why staying true to entrepreneurial values matters at scale.

This is a deep look at the future of franchising platforms, brand building, and unit economics done right.

00:00 – Intro: From Franchisee to CEO
03:13 – Founding Mosquito Squad & Building Early Brands
06:21 – How Empower Formed Through Merger
09:43 – What Empower Looks for in Acquisitions
15:44 – How to Incubate a Brand the Right Way
23:58 – Scaling Commercial vs. Residential
35:04 – Empower's $1.5B Growth
43:50 – Getting Franchisees to Follow the Model
53:40 – Empower's Philosophy on Brand Life Cycles
59:15 – Closing Thoughts on Leadership & Growth

When life completely falls apart, what do you do next?

In this powerful episode, Aaron Harper sits down with Brad Smith to talk about the accident that ended his thriving fitness business — and how he rebuilt his life, mindset, and mission from scratch. They cover the lessons hidden in loss, the importance of multiple income streams, and what it really takes to find purpose again when everything changes overnight.

Whether you're an entrepreneur, athlete, or just someone trying to navigate a hard season, this conversation will remind you that resilience isn't about bouncing back — it's about building better.

00:00:00 – Opening & introductions
Aaron introduces Brad, sets the tone for a conversation on resilience, rebuilding, and life pivots.

00:05:20 – The accident and everything changing overnight
Brad shares the story of the car accident that derailed his fitness business and forced a complete reset.

00:15:30 – Navigating physical and emotional recovery
Discussion on dealing with chronic pain, loss of purpose, and the identity crisis that comes after success collapses.

00:26:40 – Rebuilding from the ground up
How Brad and his wife approached recovery by focusing on mindset, small wins, and redefining success.

00:37:50 – The business lessons hidden in loss
Brad reflects on the dangers of single-income dependence and what diversification really means for entrepreneurs.

00:48:20 – Visibility, storytelling, and building trust
Aaron and Brad talk about showing up publicly, using vulnerability to connect, and the business power of authenticity.

00:59:10 – Creating momentum again
Brad explains how consistency and purpose gradually replaced burnout, leading to long-term stability.

01:10:15 – Lessons on leadership and legacy
A look at how setbacks reshape leadership values — empathy, communication, and resilience through example.

01:17:30 – Closing reflections
Aaron wraps the conversation by summarizing the key takeaways: rebuild, stay visible, and move forward with purpose.

What does it take to walk away from a safe, successful career and bet everything on yourself? In this episode, Navin joins Aaron to talk about his leap from medicine into entrepreneurship—and the lessons learned along the way. They dive into what it really means to build a business that runs without you, how to scale responsibly, and why content is the most underrated driver of growth today.

If you've ever wondered what it looks like to trade comfort for conviction, this conversation will hit home.

Timestamps

00:00 — Welcome & intro: from doctor to entrepreneur
04:15 — The moment Navin knew he had to make a change
06:45 — Leaving a 12-year medical career for the unknown
10:18 — The bridge years: working while building a company
14:03 — Why every business should outgrow its founder
18:59 — Early angel investing and storytelling as a magnet
22:10 — Balancing risk and fulfillment during the transition
25:55 — How to build teams that can operate without you
29:11 — Investing, exits, and lessons from early ventures
31:08 — Playing the long game: patience in pre-seed investing
35:40 — Smart money vs. dumb money in startup funding
38:42 — Scaling philosophy: investing in people, not institutions
43:10 — How personal purpose drives entrepreneurial success
47:59 — Raising capital through relationships and mentorship
50:34 — Lessons from franchising and operational scale
51:25 — Using content to represent and grow your business
55:42 — The responsibility of being a founder
01:01:25 — Why consistent content builds trust and opportunity
01:04:10 — Closing thoughts: redefining what success looks like

In this conversation, Aaron Harper and Rand Larsen explore the realities of entrepreneurship, franchising, and community building. They discuss lessons from Scale Path, the challenges of retention, creative marketing approaches, and the importance of solving problems in business with clarity and honesty.

⏱️ Timestamps
00:00 – Introduction
04:19 – Franchising, entrepreneurship, and lessons learned
18:46 – Building trust and peer group communities
34:44 – Identifying business constraints and solving problems
50:04 – Creative experiments: entrepreneur caricature card game
54:32 – Vision, goals, and the role of retention
54:54 – Rand Larsen: Building trust and retention in entrepreneur communities
56:25 – Rand Larsen: Breaking through the noise in business growth
57:23 – LinkedIn vs Twitter: what really works for engagement
01:14:17 – Rand Larsen: The hard truth about struggle in business
01:15:44 – Real-world example: solving CRM and customer account challenges
01:20:00 – Long-term value of content and storytelling
01:25:00 – Closing thoughts on scaling and future direction