Hey everyone, it’s Wisdom here! In today’s episode, I sat down with Jeremy Shapiro—entrepreneur, business growth expert, and creator of Your Business Growth Playbook. We went deep into what it truly means to build a business that gives you freedom, not just more work. Jeremy shared how so many entrepreneurs (me included!) fall into the hustle trap, creating glorified jobs for ourselves instead of real businesses that can grow and run without us. We talked about key strategies like raising prices, building recurring revenue, setting up systems, and designing a business you can eventually step back from—or even sell! My hope is that you leave this episode inspired to make those mental shifts, take action on your big ideas, and start working ON your business, not just IN it. Thanks for being on this journey with me!
Connect with Jeremy Shapiro
Website:https://www.jeremyshapiro.com/
LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremyshapiro/
I’m building an online business in public — sharing every win, setback, and “I can’t believe that happened” moment along the way. If you’ve ever wondered what it really looks like to start from scratch, come along for the ride. Join the journey at https://wisdom.beehiiv.com/Chapters
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Wisdom Journey & Guest Jeremy Shapiro
01:13 Jeremy’s Entrepreneurial Beginnings
01:58 Realizations: Escaping the ‘High Paying Job’ Trap
03:03 The Challenge of Burnout and Finding Freedom
04:44 Early Failures, Turning Points & Lessons Learned
06:56 Inspiration for Creating the Business Growth Playbook
09:17 The Three Core Pillars of the Playbook: FA & Q
12:12 Raising Prices as an Actionable Profit Lever
12:43 Outgrowing Hustle: Redefining Business Success
14:26 Why Entrepreneurs Get Stuck Working ‘In’ the Business
16:23 Scaling as a Solopreneur & the Creator Dilemma
19:28 Building a Sellable Media Business
22:47 Up the Supply Chain: Lessons from Zingerman’s
25:33 The Difference Between Operator and Owner
30:29 Moving from Managing People to Systems
31:43 SOPs: Documenting and Delegating for Growth
34:38 Defining Success and Giving Valuable Feedback
38:43 High Impact Levers to Grow Revenue (Continuity)
39:13 Recurring Revenue Examples & Implementation
42:46 Building Businesses That Run Without You
44:11 Implementation: Turning Ideas Into Action
48:53 One Piece of Wisdom for Entrepreneurs
53:32 Where to Find Jeremy’s Book & Closing Remarks