For founders, entrepreneurs, business owners, and leaders, growth can bring a difficult question: are you building a business you can lead, or one that demands more of you every day? In the messy middle of entrepreneurship, business growth can come with shrinking profits and mounting business debt. Brent Garrett’s story shows why moving forward means facing the numbers, setting the culture, and growing into the leader your business needs.
In this episode of Starter Girlz, Jennifer Loehding sits down with business owner and coach Brent Garrett. After facing $1 million in business debt, Brent had to change how he led his company. Now he helps skilled trades business owners recognize the patterns that keep them stuck and build businesses that can grow beyond them.
Brent describes the “messy middle” as the point where working harder is no longer enough to handle a growing business’s complexity. His experience taught him to pay attention to the financials, take responsibility for the culture, and become more intentional about the people and systems around him.
Their conversation explores the stages of entrepreneurship, sales, core values, delegation, emotional intelligence, and the shift from being the person who does everything to becoming an owner who can lead.
What You’ll Take Away
How to recognize when your business has reached a ceiling of complexity.
Why growth can create more work without creating more profit.
What Brent learned from facing $1 million in business debt.
Why owners need to stay engaged with their financials and company culture.
How values and emotional intelligence shape leadership and sales.
Why delegation is part of moving from operator to owner.
About Brent Garrett
Brent Garrett is a business owner, coach, and author of 30 Days to Be a Better Business. He is the founder of The Skilled Trades Coach and president of Serious Plumbing & Air Conditioning. He draws on his experience building a company and navigating significant debt to help skilled trades owners lead and grow their businesses.
Connect with Brent Garrett
Website: brentgarrett.com
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