
The Unsexy Side of Entrepreneurship That Can Kill a Business - With Charles Read - Episode 68
From The Reluctant Entrepreneur Podcast by Mike Konrad
April 10, 2026 · 58 min
About this episode
Charles Read discusses the often overlooked complexities of entrepreneurship that can lead to business failure.
Most entrepreneurs don’t fail because their idea was bad. They fail because they didn’t understand the unglamorous parts of business—the parts no one talks about until it’s too late. Payroll. Taxes. Compliance. Risk. Today’s guest has spent decades living in that world—and helping entrepreneurs survive it. My guest today is Charles Read, a CPA, author, and the founder of GetPayroll. Charles has built a successful payroll company by doing something most business owners avoid: leaning directly into complexity and responsibility. But what makes this conversation especially interesting is how Charles chooses to share what he’s learned. Through his YouTube series Charlie’s Bar, he breaks down payroll horror stories, hard-earned lessons, and real-world mistakes in a way that’s honest, approachable, and sometimes painfully familiar. In this episode, we talk about Charles’ entrepreneurial journey, the risks small business owners don’t see coming, why payroll is far more than an administrative task, and why educating entrepreneurs, before they get in trouble, has become such a personal mission for him. If you’ve ever thought, “I’ll deal with that later,” this episode is for you. Charle's…
People in this episode
Host: Mike Konrad
Guest: Charles Read
Topics covered
- entrepreneurship
- business risks
- payroll
- taxes
- compliance
- education
Keywords
- entrepreneurship
- payroll
- business failure
- tax compliance
- risk management
- Charles Read
- GetPayroll
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: GetPayroll
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