The Profit Minds Podcast w/ Steven Kirch

Hosted by Steven Kirch

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151

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Aug 2026

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About the show

What Makes YOUnique? Welcome to The Profit Minds Podcast with Dr. Steven Kirch. Dr. Kirch is the creator of theProfit Minds(TM) Growth System, a unique blend of profit growth, productivity acceleration, and business process for scale. In each episode of The Profit Minds, Dr. Kirch interviews entrepreneurs and small business owners from around the world with a unique story to tell.

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September 9, 2026Episode 15431 min

AI Is Replacing Managers Who Give Answers - Here Is What Survives | Michael Neuendorff | Ep. 154

🎙️ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐭 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐏𝐨𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐃𝐫. 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐊𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐄𝐩𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐝𝐞 𝟭𝟱𝟰 Gartner predicts that 20% of organizations will use AI to eliminate over 50% of current middle management positions by end of 2026. Amazon cut 14,000 corporate roles in 2025 citing AI efficiency. Wall Street banks plan to eliminate 200,000 roles in the next three to five years. And the reason AI is coming for middle management first is simple. Roughly 60% of a typical middle manager's week is spent on reporting, coordinating, reviewing and translating. And that is exactly what AI does best. But here is what AI cannot do. AI cannot ask a team member what challenge is coming up next month that makes them nervous. AI cannot sit with someone through their vulnerability and help them find their own answer. AI cannot develop people. And that is precisely why leaders who learn to coach their teams are not just surviving in 2026 - they are becoming indispensable. Michael Neuendorff has spent his career helping leaders make exactly this shift. He started his coaching business during the 2008 recession, learned that good businesses are forged in tough times, and has spent the years since building Bay Area Executive Coach into one of the most trusted leadership coaching practices in the country. His message to every manager worried about AI is direct. Stop giving answers. Start asking better questions. Because how leaders can survive AI by learning to coach is not a theory - it is the defining leadership skill of 2026. 💡 𝐘𝐨𝐮'𝐥𝐥 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫: - Why AI is replacing managers who give answers and exactly what type of leader survives - How leaders can survive AI by learning to coach their teams instead of directing them - The 3 biggest barriers to becoming a coaching leader and how to overcome each one - Why AI and the coaching approach work together synergistically - not against each other - The difference between a regular 1-on-1 and a coaching 1-on-1 - and why it changes everything - Why Dr. Steven says the direct report should always own the agenda in a 1-on-1 - The skills-knowledge gap vs the confidence gap - when to coach and when to just tell - Why "coaching is agency" - the 3 words that define every great coaching conversation - How becoming a coaching leader makes you a better parent, spouse and friend too - The IKEA directions story - how AI helps you build skills you lack the confidence to use - Why your greatest growth always comes from your greatest mistakes 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐑𝐒, 𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐒 & 𝐄𝐗𝐄𝐂𝐔𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐒: Michael Neuendorff is the president and founder of Bay Area Executive Coach. He left his corporate job in 2008, purchased a coaching franchise and built his practice from scratch during the worst recession in modern history. He has since created over 300 YouTube videos dedicated to helping leaders develop coaching skills, and has trained leaders across industries to become the kind of manager their teams never want to leave.

September 2, 2026Episode 15330 min

Will AI Replace Your Accountant? A CPA With 30 Years Tells the Truth | Ep. 153

🎙️ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐭 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐏𝐨𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐃𝐫. 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐊𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐄𝐩𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐝𝐞 𝟭𝟱𝟯 Will AI replace accountants? It is the question dominating every accounting forum, Reddit thread and industry conference in 2026. And the answer - straight from a CPA with 30 years of experience, Deloitte training and a front-row seat to how AI is transforming accounting practices right now - is more nuanced and more urgent than most people realize. Peter McCarroll is the founder of Fuel Accountants and The AI Accountant - the only AI training and implementation platform built exclusively for CAS practices. He started asking ChatGPT what it could do for his accounting practice in May 2024. And within weeks he had a vision that terrified him - sitting on the side of the road watching AI destroy everything he had built. He made a decision. He was going to drive the truck - not get run over by it. Today Peter trains accountants and bookkeepers worldwide to embrace AI before it makes them redundant. And his message to every business owner is just as urgent. The accountants who ignore AI will be replaced - not by AI, but by accountants who use it. Here is what the 2026 data actually says. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics projects accountants to GROW 5% through 2034. But bookkeeping clerks will DECLINE 6%. AI already codes bank transactions with 85 to 95 percent accuracy and automates roughly 80 percent of routine bookkeeping work. And AI skill mentions in accounting job postings rose from 18% to 30% in just one year. Will AI replace your accountant? Here is the real answer. No. But will AI replace accountants who refuse to use it? Absolutely. 💡 𝐘𝐨𝐮'𝐥𝐥 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫: - Will AI replace accountants and bookkeepers? The 2026 data tells the real story - Why Peter had a vision of sitting on the side of the road watching AI destroy his business - How 85% of accounting judgment is really just rule-following that AI can now automate - Why a 10-staff accounting firm will look like a 4-staff firm in just 3 years - How a locksmith client grew his revenue 25% in 3 months using one AI prompt - Why bookkeepers are becoming quality control managers and client communicators - The future of accounting: from map readers to navigators and visionaries - How Peter uses AI live during coaching calls to generate new ideas for clients - How to use AI as a thought partner that challenges your assumptions not just confirms them - Why accountants who ignore AI will be replaced by accountants who use it 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐁𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐎𝐖𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐒, 𝐀𝐂𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐒 & 𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊𝐊𝐄𝐄𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒: Peter McCarroll is the founder of Fuel Accountants and The AI Accountant - the only AI training and implementation platform built exclusively for accounting practices. He grew up in New Zealand, trained at Deloitte, built his own practice and has spent the last 2 years on the leading edge of AI implementation in accounting. He serves clients in New Zealand, Canada and the US.

August 26, 2026Episode 15231 min

Your SEO Is Lying to You — The AI Search Truth Every Business Owner Needs to Hear | Ep. 152

You are ranking on Google. Your traffic looks fine. And your next client just asked ChatGPT who to hire — and your business did not come up. That is the hidden crisis destroying businesses in 2026. Rocky Pedden — CEO of RevenueZen, acquired by publicly traded Onfolio Holdings — has 7 years of live data on what is actually working in AI search right now. And his findings will change how you think about marketing forever. Here is what you will discover: ➔ Why your Google rankings mean nothing if AI cannot find you➔ Why less traffic and more conversions is actually a GOOD sign in 2026➔ What GEO and HEO are — and why they matter more than SEO right now➔ How ChatGPT actually searches and decides who to recommend➔ The simple FAQ trick that gets your business cited by AI immediately➔ Why AI content echo chambers are killing content quality everywhere➔ The exact system to inject real expertise into AI content that converts New episode every week — subscribe so you never miss one!

August 19, 2026Episode 15131 min

You Are the Bottleneck in Your Own Business - Here Is How to Fix It | Rajesh Nagjee | Ep. 151

If your business stops when you stop - you do not have a business. You have a job. And the most dangerous bottleneck in your company is not your team, your market or your processes. It is you. In this episode of The Profit Minds Podcast, Dr. Steven Kirch sits down with Rajesh Nagjee - CEO, mentor and business physicist who spent 80,000 hours mastering 14 disciplines of business physics and created the CEO Freedom OS. Rajesh has built and sold businesses across three continents, studied under Dr. Eli Goldratt himself and mentors founders and CEOs globally.Here is what you will discover: ➔ Why YOU are the bottleneck in your own business - and how to stop being one ➔ The difference between abdication and delegation and why it costs millions ➔ The 5 levels of delegation and why Level 5 creates partners not vendors ➔ Fixed outcome plus variable process - the delegation model that changes everything ➔ Why commitment to fulfillment unlocks better business decisions ➔ The inner game of business - the hidden bottleneck nobody is fixing ➔ The 7 deadly filters of listening - the ultimate competitive advantage ➔ Business physics: cost, quality and time - choose any two but never all threeSubscribe to The Profit Minds Podcast for new episodes every week!

August 12, 2026Episode 15029 min

Your Business Could Be a Franchise - Here Are the 3 Signs It Is Ready | Tom DuFore | Ep. 150

There are 35 million small businesses in the United States. Most owners have no idea their business could already qualify as a franchise. Three simple checkboxes tell you instantly. In this episode of The Profit Minds Podcast, Dr. Steven Kirch sits down with Tom DuFore - founder and CEO of Big Sky Franchise Team, celebrating 10 years in business - who has spent his entire 20-year career helping entrepreneurs franchise their businesses and scale without spending their own capital. Here is what you will discover:➔ The 3-checkbox test to know if your business is franchisable right now ➔ How to scale through franchising without spending your own money ➔ Why franchising is a get-rich-slow business - and why that is the point ➔ The 3-step Franchise Blueprint: strategy, documentation and implementation ➔ Why the average franchise sale takes just short of 7 months ➔ How private equity is paying 10-20x multiples for franchise organizations ➔ Why home services is the #1 franchise category post-COVID ➔ How 15-20 franchises replaces all income at a fraction of the time ➔ The biggest red flag: get-rich-quick thinking in franchising ➔ Why patience is the most important virtue for any new franchisor🎁 Free Gift: 9 Pitfalls to Avoid When Franchising Your BusinessSubscribe to The Profit Minds Podcast for new episodes every week!

August 5, 2026Episode 14921 min

25 Minutes of This Every Morning Could Change How You Run Your Business | Shalin Desai | Ep. 149

What if 25 minutes every morning could make you more focused, more calm and dramatically more productive all day? Breathwork for business owners is the fastest growing wellness trend of 2026 - and the science has never been stronger. In this episode of The Profit Minds Podcast, Dr. Steven Kirch sits down with Shalin Desai - Director of Programs for the Art of Living Foundation and 21-year teacher of SKY breathing across 63 US cities. He reveals the simple morning practice backed by 100+ research studies and a Yale University study proving it is the most effective mindfulness practice for reducing cortisol - the stress hormone destroying your focus and decisions every day.Here is what you will discover:➔ Why breathwork for business owners is the highest ROI morning habit in 2026 ➔ What SKY breathing is and why Yale proves it beats every other mindfulness practice ➔ Why your breathing exercise is your mental hygiene - like brushing your teeth ➔ How 25 minutes every morning gives you dramatically more energy all day ➔ Why cortisol is silently destroying your productivity and decision-making ➔ The Tom Brady Super Bowl comeback - calm under pressure in business ➔ How fight-or-flight shuts down your higher brain functions under stress ➔ Art of Living Foundation - 186 countries, 100+ research studiesSubscribe to The Profit Minds Podcast for new episodes every week!

July 29, 2026Episode 14827 min

Stop Chasing Leads - This Podcast Strategy Converts 4 Out of Every 5 Clients | Tom Schwab | Ep. 148

Most businesses talk to 1,000 people to convert 1. Tom Schwab's clients talk to 5 and convert 4. That is the difference between a sales funnel and a sales cylinder. And in 2026 - where AI is flooding the internet with generic content and cold outreach is dying - knowing how to grow your business with targeted podcast interviews is the most powerful marketing strategy available. In this episode of The Profit Minds Podcast, Dr. Steven Kirch sits down with Tom Schwab - U.S. Naval Academy graduate, founder of Interview Valet and the engineer who brought military-grade precision to podcast guest marketing. Here is what you will discover: ➔ The sales cylinder vs sales funnel - convert 4 out of 5 targeted prospects ➔ Nearbound marketing - the gap between inbound and outbound nobody is filling ➔ Why more is not better - better is better when it comes to podcast guesting ➔ Warren Buffett Marketing - only invest in what you understand ➔ Why AI is indexing podcasts and how to get found by your ideal clients ➔ How 70% AI-generated internet makes human podcast content more valuable ➔ The transfer of authority - how podcast guesting makes you a trusted expert instantly ➔ How to turn one interview into shorts, reels, articles and a tone of voice report ➔ Why 83% of senior executives find their next vendor through podcastsSubscribe to The Profit Minds Podcast for new episodes every week!

July 22, 2026Episode 14729 min

Most Business Owners Will Never Be Free - Here Is the $10M Secret | Justin Goodbread | Ep. 147

Most business owners will work their entire lives and never achieve true freedom. Not because they lack talent. Not because they lack effort. Because they never built their business to sell.In this episode of The Profit Minds Podcast, Dr. Steven Kirch sits down with Justin Goodbread - nationally recognized business strategist, bestselling author and creator of the Deca Millionaire Framework. Justin started his first business at 15 on a dirt road in South Georgia. He has since built and sold 7 companies. And his message is clear: true financial freedom requires $10 million. And he has the exact 5-step framework to get you there.Here is what you will discover: ➔ Why true financial freedom requires $10 million - and the math that proves it ➔ The 5-step Deca Millionaire Framework: Foundation, Examination, Execution, Exit and Freedom ➔ Why most business owners are trapped inside a prison they built themselves ➔ It is not a knowledge problem - it is an implementation problem ➔ The merry-go-round: start removing yourself from your business 5 years before exit ➔ Why less than 2% of entrepreneurs achieve Deca Millionaire status ➔ True freedom comes when your identity becomes holistic - not just a business owner ➔ How to build a business someone will pay you for before you decide to exitSubscribe to The Profit Minds Podcast for new episodes every week!

July 15, 2026Episode 14629 min

You Can't ChatGPT Your Way to a Mentor - The Truth About Managing Gen Z | Ep. 146

A millennial employee smiled at her manager every day. Said everything was fine. Then went home and posted a Glassdoor review that destroyed the company's hiring pipeline overnight. This is the multigenerational communication crisis hiding inside your organization right now. In this episode of The Profit Minds Podcast, Dr. Steven Kirch sits down with Porschia Parker-Griffin - CEO of Fly High Coaching and Master's degree holder in Industrial and Organizational Psychology - who has spent 13 years helping organizations turn generational conflict into business performance.Here is what you will discover:➔ Why employees post on Glassdoor instead of talking to their managers ➔ The 3 biggest multigenerational workplace challenges in 2026 ➔ Why 52% of your employees are quietly looking for the exit right now ➔ How management style differences are silently killing your retention ➔ Why younger generations don't want a boss with all the answers ➔ You can't ChatGPT your way to a mentor - why human mentorship wins ➔ The warning signs your multigenerational team is breaking down ➔ How to measure the ROI of generational training using KPIs ➔ The case study where 100% of participants learned something immediately applicable ➔ How to build trust across generations using anonymous surveysSubscribe to The Profit Minds Podcast for new episodes every week!

July 8, 2026Episode 14526 min

The Leadership Playbook You Learned Is Already Obsolete | Chris March | Ep. 145

The leadership playbook most executives have relied on for decades is becoming obsolete. And most leaders have no idea it is happening to them right now. In this episode of The Profit Minds Podcast, Dr. Steven Kirch sits down with Chris March - former COO who spent 17 years in senior operational roles across three continents before becoming an executive coach and advisor to 6, 7, 8 and 9-figure founders. Chris shares the most critical leadership shifts happening right now - including the return of human-centered leadership, the dangerous AI echo chamber, and why slowing down is the fastest way to speed up. Here is what you will discover: ➔ Why the leadership playbook you learned is no longer relevant in 2026 ➔ The return of human-centered leadership and why it is your biggest competitive edge ➔ Why listening is the most underrated skill a leader can have ➔ The dangerous AI echo chamber - why AI validates feelings instead of challenging them ➔ The one thing strategy - why 2 or 3 priorities means you effectively have none ➔ Slow down to speed up - the counterintuitive principle great leaders live by ➔ The biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has happened ➔ How to set your North Star and build quarterly sprints that move the needle ➔ Why adaptive leadership is the most critical skill in the age of AI Subscribe to The Profit Minds Podcast for new episodes every week!