About this episode
The episode discusses the long journey of business growth and the challenges faced by entrepreneurs as they navigate the complexities of scaling their businesses.
Given everything going on in the world, you might expect a rough start to the year. But for Paul Downs, Jennifer Kerhin, and Jaci Russo, 2026 has actually begun quite well. In fact, Jennifer and Jaci say they’re finally climbing out of what many owners call the Valley of Death—that long stretch when the business depends on you for everything and when it starts to outgrow your people and your systems. Exiting the valley can take a lot longer than people expect. Jennifer is seeing daylight in year 17. Paul says it took him 25 years, a quarter of a century. “Most of that time,” he admits, “I was just wallowing in ignorance.” One lesson they’ve learned the hard way: growing too fast can do real damage. “You burn out your employees,” Jennifer says. “You provide poor quality control to your clients. You make everybody upset and angry.” Along the way, the three owners cover a lot of ground: what actually makes trade shows worth the investment (hint: it’s what you do before and after), why you may not be able to copyright that graphic design, why your logo needs a trademark, why Paul’s Google traffic is holding up but his Middle East expansion is on hold, what Jaci has uncovered about…
People in this episode
Guests: Paul Downs, Jennifer Kerhin, Jaci Russo
Topics covered
- business growth
- entrepreneurship challenges
- employee management
- health insurance
- trade shows
- business systems
Keywords
- Valley of Death
- business growth
- employee burnout
- trade shows
- health insurance
- business systems
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