The $100M Entrepreneur Podcast

1d ago

Most companies plateau. Brad shows you why and how to break through. In this episode of The $100M Entrepreneur Podcast, Brad Sugars explains the real ceilings businesses hit at $1M, $3M, and $10M and what it actually takes to push past each one. He breaks down the “million-dollar founder ceiling,” where everything still runs through you; the $3M systems ceiling, where the business is trapped in people’s heads instead of documented processes; and the $10M leadership ceiling, where growth stalls because you haven’t built leaders who can build the next phase. Brad also dives into the biggest enemy of scale: complexity. He explains why simplifying products, narrowing focus, and doing the one thing you can be the best in the world at is the fastest path to $100M. He shares lessons from Apple, McDonald’s, and even Cheesecake Factory to show how modularization and clarity unlock leverage. From there, Brad walks you through the real choke points that stop companies from scaling, and how each one suffocates growth if you don’t solve it early. He then lays out the path forward: building systems at $1M, building leaders at $3M, and building strategy at $10M, so you can scale from there to $100M and beyond. If you want to understand exactly why businesses stall, and what to do next, this is the episode for you. See you next week, on the 100M Entrepreneur Podcast, new episode every Wednesday. About Brad Sugars Internationally known as one of the most influential entrepreneurs, Brad Sugars is a bestselling author, keynote speaker, and the #1 business coach in the world. Over the course of his 30-year career as an entrepreneur, Brad has become the CEO of 9+ companies and is the owner of the multimillion-dollar franchise ActionCOACH®. As a husband and father of five, Brad is equally as passionate about his family as he is about business. That’s why, Brad is a strong advocate for building a business that works without you – so you can spend more time doing what really matters to you. Over the years of starting, scaling and selling many businesses, Brad has earned his fair share of scars. Being an entrepreneur is not an easy road. But if you can learn from those who have gone before you, it becomes a lot easier than going at it alone. Please click here to learn more about Brad Sugars: https://bradsugars.com/ Learn the Fundamentals of Success for free: The Big Success Starter: https://results.bradsugars.com/thebigsuccess-starter

Dec 10

Most companies hire. The best ones recruit. In this episode of The $100M Entrepreneur Podcast , Brad Sugars, founder and chairman of Action Coach, explains why relying on job posts keeps businesses stuck — and why real scale comes from actively finding, attracting, and keeping A-players. He breaks down the true difference between hiring and recruiting, the principle behind A’s hiring A’s, and how a single great person can completely transform a company’s trajectory. Brad shares real examples from his own businesses — recruiting a competitor’s top salesperson, bringing in a server who boosted dessert sales overnight, and building teams that multiply results instead of divide them. He also lays out the simple three-page process he uses before filling any role: getting clear on who he wants, what the job truly is, and how success will be measured. Brad then breaks down the leadership framework that turns talent into real performance — vision, mission, values, and OKRs to set direction, along with strong communication, decision-making, and feedback to drive execution. He explains why culture isn’t a slogan; culture is strategy, and it’s the strongest magnet for A-players. He also shares a simple method for evaluating your team across competency, productivity, passion, and focus, giving you a clear picture of who’s driving growth and where improvements matter most. If you’re ready to recruit like the pros, elevate your leadership, and build a team that builds the company, hit play. About Brad Sugars Internationally known as one of the most influential entrepreneurs, Brad Sugars is a bestselling author, keynote speaker, and the #1 business coach in the world. Over the course of his 30-year career as an entrepreneur, Brad has become the CEO of 9+ companies and is the owner of the multimillion-dollar franchise ActionCOACH®. As a husband and father of five, Brad is equally as passionate about his family as he is about business. That’s why, Brad is a strong advocate for building a business that works without you – so you can spend more time doing what really matters to you. Over the years of starting, scaling and selling many businesses, Brad has earned his fair share of scars. Being an entrepreneur is not an easy road. But if you can learn from those who have gone before you, it becomes a lot easier than going at it alone. Please click here to learn more about Brad Sugars: https://bradsugars.com/ Learn the Fundamentals of Success for free: The Big Success Starter: https://results.bradsugars.com/thebigsuccess-starter

Dec 3

In this episode of The $100M Entrepreneur Podcast, Brad Sugars, founder and chairman of Action Coach, breaks down what real freedom actually looks like and why most entrepreneurs never reach it! He does that by teaching you the three layers of wealth that every founder must master to create true long-term freedom. He explains how active wealth is built inside the business, how passive wealth is created through disciplined investing, and how lifestyle wealth ensures that money translates into time, health, and meaningful relationships. Brad outlines the fundamentals of building a sellable company, including why buyers prioritize a consistent two-year track record, how EBITDA multiples shape valuation, and how different buyer profiles can change the trajectory of an exit. He also shares his approach to consistently moving profit out of the business and into assets that compound over time, with a simple real-estate model and a diversified investing strategy at the core. Finally, Brad highlights the importance of intentionally designing a life that aligns with your values, not just your workload, and why founders must treat time, energy, and relationships as strategic assets. Subscribe to The $100M Entrepreneur Podcast for more conversations on strategy, wealth building, and designing a life that scales with you. About Brad Sugars Internationally known as one of the most influential entrepreneurs, Brad Sugars is a bestselling author, keynote speaker, and the #1 business coach in the world. Over the course of his 30-year career as an entrepreneur, Brad has become the CEO of 9+ companies and is the owner of the multimillion-dollar franchise ActionCOACH®. As a husband and father of five, Brad is equally as passionate about his family as he is about business. That’s why, Brad is a strong advocate for building a business that works without you – so you can spend more time doing what really matters to you. Over the years of starting, scaling and selling many businesses, Brad has earned his fair share of scars. Being an entrepreneur is not an easy road. But if you can learn from those who have gone before you, it becomes a lot easier than going at it alone. Please click here to learn more about Brad Sugars: https://bradsugars.com/ Learn the Fundamentals of Success for free: The Big Success Starter: https://results.bradsugars.com/thebigsuccess-starter

Nov 26

Forty percent of buyers just want to click a button and purchase without ever talking to a salesperson. At the same time, most people want to be sixty to eighty percent through their own research before they even consider booking a call. In this new landscape, marketing is no longer a support function for sales. It is the engine. Brad explains why the balance has shifted to eighty percent marketing and twenty percent sales, and what that means for every business owner who wants to scale. In this episode of The $100M Entreprenuer Podcast, Brad unpacks the 100M growth flywheel and shows how each turn of the wheel builds momentum through three areas. First, he breaks down the three layers of lead generation, from top of funnel education to bottom of funnel buying decisions, and explains why you need at least seven hours of content across multiple platforms for serious buyers to study. Then he dives into how social media has become social proof media, why one in five posts should clearly tell people what you sell, and how raise your hand marketing, nurture sequences, and simple sales systems convert interest into revenue. Finally, he walks through retention, mapping the first hundred days, training A-grade customers, and using the power of “only” so you onboard the right clients at the right pace. If you are ready to build a growth flywheel that keeps spinning faster as you scale, this episode will give you the practical structure to start putting in place today. Subscribe now so you never miss a strategy that can change your business and your life. About Brad Sugars Internationally known as one of the most influential entrepreneurs, Brad Sugars is a bestselling author, keynote speaker, and the #1 business coach in the world. Over the course of his 30-year career as an entrepreneur, Brad has become the CEO of 9+ companies and is the owner of the multimillion-dollar franchise ActionCOACH®. As a husband and father of five, Brad is equally as passionate about his family as he is about business. That’s why, Brad is a strong advocate for building a business that works without you – so you can spend more time doing what really matters to you. Over the years of starting, scaling and selling many businesses, Brad has earned his fair share of scars. Being an entrepreneur is not an easy road. But if you can learn from those who have gone before you, it becomes a lot easier than going at it alone. Please click here to learn more about Brad Sugars: https://bradsugars.com/ Learn the Fundamentals of Success for free: The Big Success Starter: https://results.bradsugars.com/thebigsuccess-starter

Nov 19

Most entrepreneurs set goals based on what they can do today, not who they need to become tomorrow. In this episode, Brad shares how he went from a young solopreneur in Brisbane to building ActionCOACH into a global franchise doing $100M a year in revenue, and why the real game is learning, reinvention, and scaling beyond yourself. You’ll hear the behind-the-scenes story: early hustle jobs, mentors who collapsed decades into days, the shift from “doing it all myself” to franchising, and how building models, systems, and intellectual property allowed Brad to multiply his impact worldwide. He also breaks down the concept of “Disney-fying” your ideas (one core IP, many packages), the dangers of limiting beliefs, and why growth now requires constant reinvention, not a one-time pivot. If you’ve set a massive goal and feel miles away from it, this episode will show you how to use that goal as a roadmap for what you must learn, who you must become, and what you must build so your business can outgrow you. Subscribe for weekly strategies to think bigger, grow faster, and become a $100M entrepreneur. About Brad Sugars Internationally known as one of the most influential entrepreneurs, Brad Sugars is a bestselling author, keynote speaker, and the #1 business coach in the world. Over the course of his 30-year career as an entrepreneur, Brad has become the CEO of 9+ companies and is the owner of the multimillion-dollar franchise ActionCOACH®. As a husband and father of five, Brad is equally as passionate about his family as he is about business. That’s why, Brad is a strong advocate for building a business that works without you – so you can spend more time doing what really matters to you. Over the years of starting, scaling and selling many businesses, Brad has earned his fair share of scars. Being an entrepreneur is not an easy road. But if you can learn from those who have gone before you, it becomes a lot easier than going at it alone. Please click here to learn more about Brad Sugars: https://bradsugars.com/ Learn the Fundamentals of Success for free: The Big Success Starter: https://results.bradsugars.com/thebigsuccess-starter

Nov 12

What does it take to run a business in just one hour a week? In this episode, Brad Sugars reveals the mindset and methods behind evolving from operator to owner and becoming the kind of CEO who builds businesses that run without you. Most entrepreneurs stay stuck in the business; Brad shows how to step out by mastering the four hats of a CEO: Visionary, Builder, Leader, and Investor. You’ll learn how to delegate with confidence, structure your time for maximum impact (customers, team, numbers, and future), and build systems, culture, and capital that compound. From coaching your CEO to knowing what to say no to, Brad breaks down the real work of scaling to $100M and how to design your business so it grows whether you’re in the room or not. Subscribe now to The $100M Entrepreneur Podcast and start thinking like a CEO who leads with leverage, not labor. About Brad Sugars Internationally known as one of the most influential entrepreneurs, Brad Sugars is a bestselling author, keynote speaker, and the #1 business coach in the world. Over the course of his 30-year career as an entrepreneur, Brad has become the CEO of 9+ companies and is the owner of the multimillion-dollar franchise ActionCOACH®. As a husband and father of five, Brad is equally as passionate about his family as he is about business. That’s why, Brad is a strong advocate for building a business that works without you – so you can spend more time doing what really matters to you. Over the years of starting, scaling and selling many businesses, Brad has earned his fair share of scars. Being an entrepreneur is not an easy road. But if you can learn from those who have gone before you, it becomes a lot easier than going at it alone. Please click here to learn more about Brad Sugars: https://bradsugars.com/ Learn the Fundamentals of Success for free: The Big Success Starter: https://results.bradsugars.com/thebigsuccess-starter

Nov 5

A grade businesses are built by A grade people. In this episode, Brad Sugars breaks down the five disciplines every one hundred-million-dollar company masters: Strategy, Business Development, People, Execution, and Mission. Learn how to create real leverage so you do the work once and get paid forever, choose the right business model, and cut what slows you down. You will also see how to modularize growth (X times Y) so each new location or segment scales faster and the next sale costs less and is easier. Brad brings it to life with examples from McDonald’s systems to Apple and Disney’s leverage engines. Inside the business, you will learn why management systems create accountability, how to recruit and develop A players who stay, and how onboarding and customer experience drive retention and profitability. Use this episode to rate yourself across the five disciplines, find your weakest link, and upgrade it now. Subscribe for weekly playbooks that turn vision into scale. About Brad Sugars Internationally known as one of the most influential entrepreneurs, Brad Sugars is a bestselling author, keynote speaker, and the #1 business coach in the world. Over the course of his 30-year career as an entrepreneur, Brad has become the CEO of 9+ companies and is the owner of the multimillion-dollar franchise ActionCOACH®. As a husband and father of five, Brad is equally as passionate about his family as he is about business. That’s why, Brad is a strong advocate for building a business that works without you – so you can spend more time doing what really matters to you. Over the years of starting, scaling and selling many businesses, Brad has earned his fair share of scars. Being an entrepreneur is not an easy road. But if you can learn from those who have gone before you, it becomes a lot easier than going at it alone. Please click here to learn more about Brad Sugars: https://bradsugars.com/ Learn the Fundamentals of Success for free: The Big Success Starter: https://results.bradsugars.com/thebigsuccess-starter

Oct 29

In this transformative episode of the $100 Million Podcast, Brad Sugars issues a blunt reality check: if you're the business, you don't have a business, you have a demanding job working for a crazy person, namely yourself. He redefines a true business as a commercial, profitable enterprise that thrives without the owner’s constant presence, introducing his golden rule of leverage: do the work once, get paid forever. Drawing from his own life, Brad recounts how, after 10 years building Action Coach, he appointed a CEO to run the company so he could step away and be a present dad when his daughter was born. He also shares the clever story of a multi-award-winning hairdresser who faked a broken arm to force a handoff of clients, ultimately tripling his prices, working one day a week, and keeping the salon thriving. Brad lays out the three foundational pillars, robust systems (document, automate, delegate with training and measures), an empowered team (recruited, trained, and trusted), and strong cash flow (through predictable leads, sales, and repeat business) and maps the four levels of work that elevate you from employee (paid once) to manager (paid long-term), owner (paid forever), and finally investor (money works for you). This episode is your roadmap to escaping the owner’s trap, systemizing your way to freedom, and building a scalable enterprise that doesn’t collapse without you. Subscribe to the $100 Million Podcast now and never miss a strategy to scale your freedom and wealth. About Brad Sugars Internationally known as one of the most influential entrepreneurs, Brad Sugars is a bestselling author, keynote speaker, and the #1 business coach in the world. Over the course of his 30-year career as an entrepreneur, Brad has become the CEO of 9+ companies and is the owner of the multimillion-dollar franchise ActionCOACH®. As a husband and father of five, Brad is equally as passionate about his family as he is about business. That’s why, Brad is a strong advocate for building a business that works without you – so you can spend more time doing what really matters to you. Over the years of starting, scaling and selling many businesses, Brad has earned his fair share of scars. Being an entrepreneur is not an easy road. But if you can learn from those who have gone before you, it becomes a lot easier than going at it alone. Please click here to learn more about Brad Sugars: https://bradsugars.com/ Learn the Fundamentals of Success for free: The Big Success Starter: https://results.bradsugars.com/thebigsuccess-starter