In this episode, Mike Steadman, also known as “Iron Mike”, is a Marine Corps veteran and founder, and he shares his journey from leading troops in Afghanistan to building a business rooted in category design and go-to-market strategy. He reflects on leaving the military, launching a nonprofit boxing gym, and eventually pivoting into higher-leverage work after realizing the importance of market demand. Mike breaks down his core philosophy that category comes first, explaining why most founders struggle with positioning, how labels like “fractional” commoditize your value, and why defining your own category is key to standing out.

He also shares how he bootstrapped a podcasting business during COVID and used it to build relationships before transitioning into strategy. The conversation dives into his “movement to contact” approach to sales, focused on volume, consistency, and reps, and why learning sales early is critical. Mike emphasizes the importance of strong point of view, clear language, and consistent content, and shares his vision for adversarial go-to-market, built on one truth: the market owes you nothing and you have to earn every customer.

(00:00) Intro

(02:00) Starting a nonprofit boxing gym

(05:42) Why businesses fail

(07:04) Discovering category design

(10:15) Why “fractional” is a trap

(11:41) Spotting emerging markets

(16:34) Getting first clients

(20:04) Bootstrapping a business

(24:07) Red team and positioning process

(30:51) Lead generation and sales system

(38:18) Developing a strong point of view

(46:38) What’s next: adversarial go-to-market

Follow Mike on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iron-mike-steadman/Check out OP4: https://op4.co

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Build a repeatable inbound motion and stabilize your revenue: ⁠https://duoconsulting.co/⁠

Each week, we share a new framework, concept, or example of how solopreneurs are scaling from $25,000 to $60,000+ per month: ​​⁠https://www.howsolosscale.com/⁠

In this episode, Louis Grenier, positioning + GTM consultant for B2B at Stand The F*ck Out and founder of Everyone Hates Marketers, shares his unconventional journey from a mechanical engineering background to building a successful marketing consultancy. Louis reflects on his early days in Dublin, how serendipity led him to stay, and his shift from agency work to becoming a marketing professional. He also talks about the lessons learned from burning out in his first agency and how he found his true passion in marketing, which ultimately shaped his business philosophy.

Louis explores his Everyone Hates Marketers podcast experience, where he emphasizes the importance of standing out in a crowded market by being unapologetically authentic. He shares his unique approach to positioning, go-to-market strategies, and creative differentiation in a noisy world. Throughout the conversation, Louis opens up about his entrepreneurial highs and lows, his time at Hotjar, and how his personal health challenges influenced his career, providing invaluable insights on growing a business based on values and the power of embracing failure.

(00:00) Intro

(01:49) Tech boom and serendipity shaped career

(04:10) Why he chose to stay in Dublin

(05:24) First real marketing role and lessons learned

(06:30) Launching agency and early mistakes made

(08:02) Cancun burnout after failed client experiment

(10:06) Hotjar role and podcast beginnings

(16:34) First sales and early business anxiety

(20:46) Current revenue streams and business model

(22:06) Cutting business branches to refocus growth

(25:07) Doubling down on B2B GTM consulting

(28:35) Generosity over metrics drives real growth

(30:46) Beta readers improved book quality massively

(31:54) Book became powerful sales engine

(36:19) Cancer diagnosis brought clarity, not change

(40:38) Regrets about past relationships and growth

(41:25) Pruning business to focus on one thing

Follow Louis on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/louisgrenierCheck out Everyone Hates Marketers: https://www.everyonehatesmarketers.comCheck out Stand The F*ck Out: https://www.stfo.io

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Build a repeatable inbound motion and stabilize your revenue: ⁠https://duoconsulting.co/⁠

Each week, we share a new framework, concept, or example of how solopreneurs are scaling from $25,000 to $60,000+ per month: ​​⁠https://www.howsolosscale.com/⁠

In this episode, Michelle Warner, a business strategist and designer, shares her transition from building venture-backed startups to creating a smaller, more sustainable business. After ıexperiencing intense burnout, she stepped away from the traditional growth-at-all-costs model and began designing a business that aligned with her life. She reflects on how working with single mothers in a social impact startup revealed a growing wave of online entrepreneurship and inspired her consulting work.

Michelle also breaks down her core philosophy of relationship marketing vs traffic marketing, explaining why most service-based businesses struggle when they rely on audience growth alone. She shares how building intentional relationships, instead of chasing scale, leads to better clients, more aligned growth, and a more sustainable business model.

(00:00) Intro

(00:39) Leaving startups after burnout

(02:46) Shift to a smaller business

(02:56) Discovering online entrepreneurs

(06:59) Offers evolve over time

(12:32) Relationship vs traffic marketing

(28:00) Real vs transactional networking

(29:37) Connection avatars strategy

(32:59) Using a podcast to network

(35:23) Small, specific asks

(46:12) Defining what’s enough

Follow Michelle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/warnermichelle/ Check out Networking that Pays: https://www.themichellewarner.com/

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Build a repeatable inbound motion and stabilize your revenue: ⁠https://duoconsulting.co/⁠

Each week, we share a new framework, concept, or example of how solopreneurs are scaling from $25,000 to $60,000+ per month: ​​⁠https://www.howsolosscale.com/⁠