Canada’s universal healthcare system is a source of pride—but it’s breaking under the weight of rising demand, longer wait times, and shrinking access to services. In this episode, I ask a tough but necessary question: could introducing a paid tier actually save our healthcare system? We explore: Why the current public model isn’t sustainable The myth of the “two-tier” system—and the four real quadrants that exist today How private options can actually reduce pressure on the public system Data-b...
Jul 06, 2025•23 min•Season 1Ep. 91
The Information Age brought prosperity, access, and knowledge to billions. But that era is ending. In this episode, I argue that the Information Age has already given way to a new era: The Augmentation Age . We no longer need to know everything—AI tools and digital memory hold that for us. Knowledge workers are being replaced. Google doesn’t send us to information; it delivers the answer. Designers, coders, lawyers, and writers are being augmented—or automated. So what’s next? We explore the new...
Jun 30, 2025•20 min•Season 1Ep. 90
Saving the Sault – Where Truth Meets Action Sault Ste. Marie is at a tipping point. In this long-form episode, I explore the six critical challenges our city is facing—and how we can turn the tide. From economic fragility to the drug crisis, from government reliance to leadership voids, I offer bold but achievable ideas to help the Sault thrive again. This isn’t political. It’s personal. And it starts with honesty, unity, and hope. 🔑 What You’ll Learn: Why our population, wages, and workforce a...
Jun 22, 2025•39 min•Season 1Ep. 89
What if your business could grow without more risk or more work? In this episode of BusinessIsGood , I unpack the powerful concept of intrapreneurialism —where staff build businesses inside your business. It’s not just delegation or profit-sharing; it’s about giving your team a platform to grow something remarkable while you both win. I’ll define what intrapreneurialism really is, break down the value for staff and owners, and share five real-world examples from service industries (including one...
Jun 15, 2025•21 min•Season 1Ep. 88
Description: In this episode of BusinessIsGood , we delve into the timeless wisdom of Sun Tzu's The Art of War and explore how its principles can be applied to today's service-based businesses. Discover how to: Leverage strategic deception to outmaneuver competitors. Prepare thoroughly to ensure victory before entering the market. Seize opportunities proactively to multiply success. Achieve victories without direct confrontation. Gain deep self-awareness to navigate business battles effectively....
Jun 01, 2025•13 min•Season 1Ep. 87
Podcast Summary: Just Do It Over the last six months, I’ve worked with five different business coaches to simplify my company and refocus on what matters. I’ve talked to experts, mapped out plans, brainstormed strategies—until yesterday, when executive coach Dennis McIntee said something that stopped me cold: “You already know what to do. You just have to do it.” In this episode of BusinessIsGood , I unpack the hard truth: 👉 Knowing what to do isn’t enough. 👉 Learning and planning can become a...
May 25, 2025•12 min•Season 1Ep. 86
If you’re like most entrepreneurs, you think: “To grow, I need to do more—more marketing, more ads, more promotions.” But Keith Cunningham, author of The Road Less Stupid , has a smarter answer: Not all growth strategies are equal. You need to prioritize the right moves in the right order. In this episode of BusinessIsGood , I walk you through Cunningham’s Growth Funnel —a five-step roadmap to growth that puts your energy where it matters most. We cover: ✅ Why keeping more customers is your #1 g...
May 18, 2025•11 min•Season 1Ep. 85
Most entrepreneurs know they should do more of what works. But very few realize they also need to stop doing what doesn’t. In this episode of BusinessIsGood , I walk through how to identify the things in your business that are wasting your most valuable asset: your time . I share stories—from my own businesses and from our mentorship clients—about how much time, money, and energy are lost doing things that feel “good” but don’t actually produce results. I explain: Why 98% of entrepreneurs aren’t...
May 11, 2025•21 min•Season 1Ep. 84
You’ve probably heard the saying: “The rich get richer during a recession.” But here’s the truth: It’s not the crisis that makes people successful—it’s their preparedness . In this episode of BusinessIsGood , I share one of the best lessons I’ve learned from Dan Sullivan of Strategic Coach: “Give half the credit to luck—and the other half to your ability to take advantage of it.” Luck will come. Opportunities will show up. The real question is— will you be ready? Using real examples from the COV...
May 04, 2025•11 min•Season 1Ep. 83
In this episode of BusinessIsGood , I talk about one of the biggest mistakes business owners make: running their business by story instead of by numbers . The problem with stories—especially the ones we tell ourselves—is that they’re often wrong. We tell ourselves things like: “My clients can’t afford to pay more.” “I’m working as hard as I can.” “I’m doing everything right, but it’s just not working.” But those are stories, not facts. If you’re not running your business by numbers, you’re runni...
Apr 27, 2025•15 min•Season 1Ep. 82
We’ve all heard that we should “have a growth mindset.” But what does that actually mean in business—and how do you practice it? In this episode of BusinessIsGood , I break down the difference between a growth mindset and a scarcity mindset, and explain how most of us were raised to believe in competition, limitation, and fear of loss. The truth? Business isn’t a zero-sum game. Success isn’t finite. And when we focus on collaboration instead of competition, everyone wins. I’ll give you: A clear ...
Apr 21, 2025•12 min•Season 1Ep. 81
Culture Is What You Tolerate In this episode of BusinessIsGood , I give full credit to Keith Cunningham, author of The Road Less Stupid , for one of the clearest insights I’ve ever heard about culture: “Culture is what you tolerate.” It’s not about nap rooms, Red Bull in the fridge, or inspirational posters. Culture is shaped by what we allow, what we ignore, and how we interact with each other—especially when things get uncomfortable. Here’s what I cover: Why most companies unintentionally buil...
Apr 14, 2025•12 min•Season 1Ep. 80
Podcast Summary: Chicken and Rice In this episode of BusinessIsGood , I talk to business owners who feel like they’re pushing harder than ever but getting the same—or worse—results. Maybe your sales have plateaued. Maybe retention’s dropping. Or maybe your business just doesn’t feel fun anymore. It feels heavy. Slow. Like you’re pushing a rope uphill. You remember when it used to feel easier, and you’re wondering what changed. Here’s what happened: your business got bloated. As businesses grow, ...
Apr 07, 2025•18 min•Season 1Ep. 79
In this episode of BusinessIsGood , I talk about how it feels to take one step forward in your business—only to get pulled one step back. Most entrepreneurs think they have a growth problem. But the real issue? Shrinkage. You make progress… and lose it. Over and over. I share why that happens and how to fix it. The solution is to hit "Save Game"—by building a staff playbook made up of clear, repeatable SOPs. That way, when the unexpected happens—and it will—you don’t lose all your progress. I sh...
Mar 31, 2025•12 min•Season 1Ep. 78
In this episode of BusinessIsGood , I talk about one of the most common breakdowns in founder-led businesses: lack of clarity. Too often, CEOs and founders assume that once is enough when it comes to communicating vision, expectations, or processes. But the truth is, if your team doesn’t seem to "get it," it’s not a people problem—it’s a clarity problem. I share why founders need to repeat their message often, in multiple ways, and constantly work toward clarity instead of novelty. I draw from m...
Mar 26, 2025•10 min•Season 1Ep. 77
Podcast Script: Why Business Leaders Should Be Coaches, Not Captains Intro Music Fades In Host: Welcome to BusinessIsGood , the podcast where we explore the ideas and practices that help entrepreneurs grow their businesses and create lasting success. I’m your host, Chris Cooper. Today, we’re tackling a big question: should you lead your business as a “captain” or as a “coach”? To illustrate this, I want to start with a story from hockey. Bobby Hull, nicknamed “The Golden Jet,” was one of the gre...
Jan 20, 2025•7 min•Season 1Ep. 76
Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe . Abraham Lincoln You're buried in work. Who has time to work out? Being a good entrepreneur doesn't just mean making money. It doesn't mean out-grinding the competition, or even loving your work every day. But it does mean: Selling your service Negotiating Leading others Focusing Thinking with a clear head Overcoming procrastination ...and more. These are all entrepreneurial skills. No one is good at all o...
Dec 09, 2024•12 min•Season 1Ep. 75
How To Calm Down Every entrepreneur gets triggered sometimes. The reasons might be obvious: a late employee, a missed detail, a poor customer experience. Or they might not be: we could show up to work escalated; we could be carrying dread or guilt around; we could have a fight with our spouse before we left for work. Many days, our emotional meter is already cranked up to 9 before we start our day, and one little thing pushes us up to MAX 10. Then we have an over-the-top response to some little ...
Nov 17, 2024•12 min•Season 1Ep. 74
In this episode of *Business Is Good*, I explore the concept of self-leadership and why it’s the foundation of all other types of leadership. I share that while a business's efficiency helps it survive tough times, it’s the strength of its leadership that determines its success in the good times. Often, the biggest limitation to growth is the founder or CEO—their personal knowledge gaps, emotional control, or mindset can be what holds the business back. I walk through different forms of leadersh...
Nov 06, 2024•12 min•Season 1Ep. 73
This November, join me for a 30-day GOLDEN HOUR Challenge to grow your business! To participate: Commit to participating in our Facebook group (join here) Post "done!" under each daily GOLDEN HOUR CHALLENGE post when you've completed the work for the day! Connect with Chris Cooper: Website - https://businessisgood.com/
Oct 13, 2024•13 min•Season 1Ep. 72
Why Get Rich_ Chris Cooper discusses the motivations and challenges of gym owners, who often sacrifice higher-paying careers to pursue their passion despite low earnings. He argues that wealth creation is essential for personal and societal progress, emphasizing that wealth enables freedom, problem-solving, and opportunities for others. Cooper highlights the importance of entrepreneurship in driving economic growth and democracy, noting that wealth creation is necessary for job creation and tax ...
Oct 06, 2024•21 min•Season 1Ep. 71
why you want the hard times Dave tate: business is a battle of attrition what determines who lasts and who doesn't? the hard stuff nobody wanted covid lockdowns, but when they reopened there was far less competition Tadej Pogacar - I want the steepest, hardest climbs becuase they're the separator when you ahve stafff quit - so do they when your rent goes up - so does theirs maybe not the same day, but over the 3-year span, everything that happens to you will happen to your competition They might...
Sep 29, 2024•18 min•Season 1Ep. 70
Episode Summary: In this episode, we’re talking about how business owners—especially gym owners—often make the mistake of overcomplicating their businesses. It’s easy to add unnecessary options, details, and management layers, but that can slow down growth, create confusion, and reduce profit. Many of us became entrepreneurs to flex our creative muscles, but there’s a point where experimentation becomes a barrier to success. We’ll dive into why simplifying back to a minimum viable product (MVP) ...
Sep 22, 2024•17 min•Season 1Ep. 69
This week, we're going to build entrepreneurial resilience: the ability to just keep going when things go wrong. Listen to this episode, and then visit the Daily Directives section at BusinessIsGood.com to complete daily exercises for resilience all week. I'm Chris Cooper, and today I'm discussing strategies for overcoming adversity in business. Setbacks are inevitable, but they can be managed by spreading them out over time and making them less impactful. I've found that taking a long-term view...
Sep 16, 2024•10 min•Season 1Ep. 68
Why founders don’t make money They are product oriented -inventors not investors They quit too soon - in the product crew successful, they have done its job They failed to scale - They are irreplaceable in their business. Connect with Chris Cooper: Website - https://businessisgood.com/
Aug 19, 2024•15 min•Season 1Ep. 67
I'm a product guy. I want to believe that if I keep making my product better, I'll make it more profitable. Unfortunately, that almost never works - we get caught in the Technician's Curse and never stop iterating on our product, tweaking it, improving it...and never having time to market it. But there are SOME ways that improving your product CAN make it more profitable: Being the best in class creates a huge advantage, because the best clients will ascend to your service (if they know about it...
Aug 11, 2024•13 min•Season 1Ep. 66
Connect with Chris Cooper: Website - https://businessisgood.com/
Aug 04, 2024•16 min•Season 1Ep. 65
Characteristics of Missionaries and Mercenaries Missionaries: Purpose-Driven: Focused on the company’s vision and values, often motivated by making a meaningful impact. Long-Term Commitment: Likely to stay with the company through ups and downs, seeing their work as a calling or part of a larger mission. Team-Oriented: They prioritize collaboration and the overall success of the team over personal gain. Mercenaries: Outcome-Focused: Driven primarily by personal benefits such as compensation, bon...
Jul 28, 2024•25 min•Season 1Ep. 64
I get between 30 and 300 messages on FB every single day. Usually, I ask, "what are your goals for the business?" and the entrepreneur answers, "I need more clients." But in many ases, they have lots of clients, and that's not ht eproblem. They're chasing the wrong metric. In fact, they're chasing the hardest metric. They should be chasing profit. How do you get more profit and impove that metric? Getting more revenue and cutting unnecessary expenses. You improve those 2 metrics. How do you impr...
Jul 14, 2024•7 min•Season 1Ep. 63
When most entrepreneurs get their business running smoothly, they turn their eyes to the next thing: the next level, the next opportunity, the next location, or the next big idea. This means they no longer spend all of their time caring for, feeding and protecting the Golden Goose. They might entrust its care to someone else...but that person doesn't have all of the context, experience or knowledge of the business owner. We call this "moving from Farmer phase to Tinker Phase". When you leave you...
Jul 07, 2024•13 min•Season 1Ep. 64
