Super Entrepreneurs Podcast

Peggy Sullivan on Why Being Busy Is Hurting Your Business Growth
What if the reason you're struggling to grow your business isn't that you're not working hard enough... but that you're working on too many things that don't really matter?
We live in a world where being busy has almost become a badge of honor. Packed calendars, endless emails, back-to-back meetings, and now AI tools promising to help us do even more.
But are we actually getting better results?
On this episode of Super Entrepreneurs Podcast, host Shahid Durrani sits down with Peggy Sullivan, global speaker, performance optimization expert, researcher, and author of Beyond Busyness: How to Achieve More by Doing Less.
Peggy knows the cost of constant busyness personally. After years of pushing herself in corporate leadership, she experienced serious consequences for her health, career, and relationships. Her experience led her to spend years studying what she calls "time poverty."
And some of her findings are worth paying attention to.
Peggy shares that her research consistently finds 94% of working people feel excessively busy and want more time for what matters. She also explains how her Time Poverty Index helps people identify habits that may be costing them several hours every week.
One of the most interesting parts of our conversation is what happens when entrepreneurs become successful.
They start their businesses looking for freedom. But as the company grows, many become so involved in every decision, every customer issue, and every detail that they unintentionally become the biggest obstacle to their own growth.
We talk about why this happens, how to recognize it, and why removing unnecessary work can sometimes create more business value than adding another productivity tool.
We also get into AI. Peggy makes an interesting point: speeding up a task doesn't necessarily make that task worth doing.
During our conversation, we explore:
Why being busy and being productive aren't the same thing.
How business owners become unintentional bottlenecks.
What Peggy learned from her personal experience with burnout.
Why AI may help us complete unnecessary work even faster.
How the Time Poverty Index measures lost capacity.
Why some people can reclaim 5–7 hours per week by changing their habits.
What high-performing salespeople do differently with their calendars.
How to identify low-value activities and remove them.
Why focus, energy, and self-awareness matter as much as time.
How making room for unexpected problems can improve business decisions.
#PeggySullivan #BeyondBusyness #TimePoverty #EntrepreneurMindset #BusinessGrowth #Productivity #super #superentrepreneurs #shahiddurrani
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=============================
Chapter Stamps:
00:00 – Meet Peggy Sullivan: Author of Beyond Busyness
00:54 – Peggy's background and helping entrepreneurs escape time poverty
02:11 – The research behind why we're always busy
04:15 – Peggy's personal story: When busyness came at a serious cost
07:15 – Why society treats being busy as a status symbol
11:12 – The importance of time, attention, and energy
13:23 – Why working harder doesn't always lead to greater success
15:24 – How low-value activities quietly consume our days
18:22 – Peggy's Time Poverty Index and how it identifies wasted capacity
20:18 – The Performance by Design framework and removing unnecessary work
22:01 – Can ChatGPT and AI replace human productivity coaching?
26:27 – Why reclaiming time motivates behavior change
28:49 – Why business success sometimes creates less personal freedom
29:13 – How entrepreneurs become unintentional bottlenecks
33:54 – The relationship between personal values and business decisions
37:54 – Reclaiming 5–7 hours a week and understanding your productivity patterns
40:18 – Why better habits can help maintain time wealth
43:37 – The hidden problem with having too many priorities
45:21 – When successful habits begin working against you
48:20 – Peggy's research: Why 94% feel too busy
52:33 – What top-performing salespeople do differently
54:12 – Why more productivity tools don't necessarily mean better results
56:15 – The common mistake of rushing into solutions
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Pullout Quotes:
"we can be over the top busy and not get any results" — Peggy Sullivan (04:15)
"do we have the time, the attention, and the energy for what's important?" — Peggy Sullivan (11:12)
"entrepreneurs are often unintentional bottlenecks." — Peggy Sullivan (29:13)
"everything you do should add value, and if it doesn't, then why are you putting your time and your energy into it?" — Peggy Sullivan (33:54)
"people look at a couple of hours free in their calendar and all they want to do is fill them." — Peggy Sullivan (47:18)
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Social:
Website: https://peggysullivanspeaker.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peggyasullivan/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/peggysullivanspeaker/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/peggysullivanspeaker/
Book: Beyond Busyness: How to Achieve More by Doing Less
https://peggysullivanspeaker.com/beyond-busyness/
=============================
Disclaimer:
Please be aware that the opinions and perspectives conveyed in this podcast are solely those of our guests and do not necessarily represent the views, ideologies, or principles of Super Entrepreneurs Podcast, its associated entities, or any organizations they represent or are affiliated with. We provide a platform for discussion and exploration, and the content of each episode is understood to be independent expressions from our guests, rather than a reflection of the beliefs held by the podcast or its hosts.

Scale smarter. Operate cleaner. Exit stronger.
I help digital business owners turn founder-led companies into scalable, AI-enhanced, buyer-ready businesses. That means improving decision-making, removing growth bottlenecks, and increasing enterprise value so the business can perform better now and become more attractive later.
If you're curious what your business may be worth today, start with a free business valuation.
https://flippa.com/lps/shahiddurrani/

What if the idea you're most attached to is the very thing holding your business back?
Mike Gomoll knows what it's like to change direction. He started Joey's Song, a nonprofit supporting epilepsy research, with a modest goal: raise $500 and help another family facing what his own family had experienced.
Mike and his wife lost their son Joey to a rare form of epilepsy called Dravet syndrome, shortly before his fifth birthday. What began as a small music fundraising project has now raised more than $2 million, with support from Grammy-winning producer Butch Vig and musicians connected to some of rock's biggest bands.
In this episode of Super Entrepreneurs Podcast, host Shahid Durrani talks with Mike about the business decisions behind that growth.
They discuss why empathy can be more meaningful than guilt in marketing, how relationships create opportunities, and why being willing to fail is part of building something worthwhile.
Mike also shares what he learned from products nobody bought, listening to his team, changing business models, and knowing when to slow down, especially with AI giving us more options than ever.
It's a conversation about entrepreneurship, identity, and learning to pay attention to what actually works.
Watch the full episode and share your thoughts in the comments.
#super #superentrepreneurs #shahiddurrani #JoeysSong #NonprofitLeadership
🔔 Super Entrepreneurs Podcast
To watch more videos and get new video updates please subscribe to our channel and stay with us:
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👉 X: https://twitter.com/officialshahidd
👉 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shahid-durrani/
👉 Website: https://shahiddurrani.com/

Chapter Stamps:
00:00 — Introduction to Mike Gomoll and Joey's Song
00:37 — The personal story behind Joey's Song
04:33 — From a $500 goal to raising over $2 million
05:31 — Why traditional nonprofit fundraising isn't always enough
07:25 — How influential relationships opened doors
11:59 — The unexpected idea that changed everything
15:31 — Why empathy matters more than selling tragedy
18:07 — Building a community around a cause
23:18 — Helping other charities raise money without added costs
26:03 — How to make people care without making them feel guilty
29:21 — Why Joey's Song streams concerts for free
34:59 — Reaching new audiences through musicians and their fans
38:20 — Growing with earned media instead of expensive advertising
41:39 — Why having a good product or mission isn't enough
44:50 — The decision to move from CDs to live events
49:18 — Following the breadcrumbs when making business decisions
52:23 — Why leaders need to listen to their teams
55:15 — Taking chances when most ideas don't work
58:40 — Separating your identity from your business results
59:42 — Knowing the difference between opportunity and distraction
01:02:03 — Why successful musicians keep returning to Joey's Song
01:05:47 — The merchandise experiment that didn't work
01:08:13 — How a spontaneous idea became a fan favorite
01:10:55 — Why good ideas don't always come from the founder
01:12:34 — Making better decisions when AI speeds everything up
01:15:48 — How listeners can support Joey's Song

Pullout Quotes:
"I think what you want to sell is empathy, not tragedy."
"But you can't make it a vanity project. You've got to make it about what is successful, not what you want it to be"
"And you have to realize that what you do is not who you are."
"not every good idea comes out of your own brain."
"you're not forced to work at the speed of AI."

Socials:
Website: https://www.joeyssong.org/
LinkedIn (Mike Gomoll): https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-gomoll/
Instagram (Joey's Song): https://www.instagram.com/joeyssong/
Facebook (Joey's Song): https://www.facebook.com/joeyssong/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Joeys-Song
Disclaimer: Please be aware that the opinions and perspectives conveyed in this podcast are solely those of our guests and do not necessarily represent the views, ideologies, or principles of Super Entrepreneurs Podcast, its associated entities, or any organizations they represent or are affiliated with. We provide a platform for discussion and exploration, and the content of each episode is understood to be independent expressions from our guests, rather than a reflection of the beliefs held by the podcast or its hosts.

One more thing - if there's a decision, direction, or situation in your business or life that you've been going back and forth on, I recently created a free Clarity Audit that may be useful.
It takes about five minutes and gives you a personalized reflection on what may be making the decision feel harder than it needs to be - including the difference between what actually needs your attention and the extra noise around it.
You'll also leave with a clearer way to look at your next step.
Take the free Clarity Audit:
https://start.shahiddurrani.com/the-clarity-audit

Can someone spend 14½ years behind bars and learn something about freedom that many of us never notice on the outside?
In this episode of the Super Entrepreneurs Podcast, Shahid Durrani sits down with Fleet Maull, founder of Heart Mind Institute and author of Radical Responsibility, for a thoughtful conversation about the invisible prisons we carry within ourselves.
Fleet entered federal prison facing a 30-year sentence, which was later reduced. He shares how being separated from his young son changed his approach to responsibility, meditation, and service. While incarcerated, he helped establish a prison hospice program and developed the foundation for his later work in mindfulness.
Together, Shahid and Fleet explore how childhood conditioning influences our reactions, why self-compassion is essential to personal responsibility, and how learning to regulate our nervous system can help us respond more consciously.
Fleet also shares practical breathing techniques and explains why entrepreneurs need to care for their health and relationships alongside their business results.
It's a conversation about freedom, leadership, and what becomes possible when we pay attention to how we're living, not just what we're achieving.
🔔 Super Entrepreneurs Podcast
To watch more videos and get new video updates please subscribe to our channel and stay with us:
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✅ Stay Connected With Us:
👉 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/officialshahiddurrani/
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👉 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/officialshahiddurrani/
👉 SEP Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/superentrepreneurspod
👉 X: https://twitter.com/officialshahidd
👉 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shahid-durrani/
👉 Website: https://shahiddurrani.com/

Chapter Stamps
00:00 – Introduction to Fleet Maull
00:53 – Building Heart Mind Institute and the Mission to Reach One Billion People
03:13 – Innate Goodness, Self-Regulation, and Human Connection
07:38 – Facing a 30-Year Prison Sentence and Finding a New Purpose
12:23 – What Rabbits and Birds Taught Fleet About Internal Freedom
15:32 – How Radical Responsibility Was Born Behind Bars
17:22 – Meditation, Facing Pain, and Learning to Live in the Present
21:02 – Transformation Through Meditation, Teaching, and Prison Hospice Work
26:08 – Why Responsibility Must Begin With Self-Compassion
28:58 – The Question That Shifts Us From Helplessness to Possibility
31:46 – Finding the Humanity in Others, Even When You Have No Power
36:38 – How Childhood Conditioning Creates Invisible Prisons
38:41 – Understanding the Nervous System and Emotional Reactions
41:04 – Practical Breathing Techniques to Regulate Stress
46:46 – Developing the Witness Mind Through Self-Awareness
47:44 – Neuro-Somatic Mindfulness and Why Positive Thinking Isn't Enough
48:37 – Radical Responsibility Without Blame or Shame
51:41 – Why Mindfulness Can Work Across Different Faiths and Beliefs
54:43 – How Entrepreneurs Can Succeed in Business Without Sacrificing Life
56:09 – A Simple Place to Begin: Take a Deep Breath

Guest Pullouts:
"I really had the insight that for me the prison thing is really a state of mind."
"Because if we don't have that self-compassion, we try to embrace that level of ownership, it also triggers us into self-blaming and self-shaming, right?"
"Everybody's got a human being button."
"The power of that is that from the witness mind, you can choose how to respond to the content of your life rather than being lost in it."
"It has nothing to do with self-blame. It has nothing to do with blaming others. Obviously, it has nothing to do with blaming victims."

Social
Website: https://www.fleetmaull.com/
Heart Mind Institute: https://www.heartmind.co
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fleetmaull
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fleetmaull

Disclaimer:
Please be aware that the opinions and perspectives conveyed in this podcast are solely those of our guests and do not necessarily represent the views, ideologies, or principles of Super Entrepreneurs Podcast, its associated entities, or any organizations they represent or are affiliated with. We provide a platform for discussion and exploration, and the content of each episode is understood to be independent expressions from our guests, rather than a reflection of the beliefs held by the podcast or its hosts.

One more thing - if there's a decision, direction, or situation in your business or life that you've been going back and forth on, I recently created a free Clarity Audit that may be useful.
It takes about five minutes and gives you a personalized reflection on what may be making the decision feel harder than it needs to be - including the difference between what actually needs your attention and the extra noise around it.
You'll also leave with a clearer way to look at your next step.
Take the free Clarity Audit:
https://start.shahiddurrani.com/the-clarity-audit

What happens when AI makes polished content easy for almost everyone? We get more content, more competition for attention and a much bigger question around who we actually trust.
In this episode of the Super Entrepreneurs Podcast, Shahid Durrani sits down with Jenna Guarneri, Founder and CEO of JMG Public Relations and author of You Need PR, to explore what building real authority looks like in an increasingly crowded, AI-driven world.
Jenna explains why founders shouldn't confuse followers, likes, or even viral moments with reputation. We get into "thought ownership," the difference between marketing and PR, why businesses should begin building their reputation before they desperately need publicity, and how long-form content can become a valuable library of ideas.
She also walks through how a founder starting from zero can develop authority: understand what you want to be known for, know who you're speaking to, build clear content pillars, stay consistent, test what resonates, and pay attention to the right data.
Because ultimately, your story isn't something to manufacture. It's something to understand, develop, and communicate consistently.
🔔 Super Entrepreneurs Podcast To watch more videos and get new video updates please subscribe to our channel and stay with us: https://www.youtube.com/@SuperEntrepreneursPod
✅ Stay Connected With Us:
👉 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/officialshahiddurrani/
👉 SEP Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/superentrepreneurs
👉 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/officialshahiddurrani/
👉 SEP Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/superentrepreneurspod
👉 X: https://twitter.com/officialshahidd
👉 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shahid-durrani/
👉 Website: https://shahiddurrani.com/
=============================
Chapter Stamps:
00:00 – Meet Jenna Guarneri of JMG Public Relations
02:21 – Has AI Made Credibility Harder to Build?
05:10 – What Happens When Content Becomes Oversaturated?
08:09 – Real Authority vs. AI-Generated Authority
12:10 – Why Likes and Followers Can Mislead Founders
14:44 – Authentic Content and the Long Game of Consistency
18:17 – What Actually Makes Someone Stop Scrolling?
20:48 – Turning Long-Form Content Into a Content Library
22:25 – Visibility Problems vs. Credibility Problems
24:26 – How Long Should You Test Content Before Changing Strategy?
26:49 – Why PR Should Start Before You Think You Need It
30:23 – PR Is Much More Than Getting Featured in Forbes
35:17 – The Difference Between Attention and Reputation
36:35 – Marketing vs. PR Explained Simply
38:29 – What Do You Want to Be Known For?
42:08 – Building Authority When Nobody Knows You Yet
47:19 – Why Founders Should Be Careful Chasing Trends
49:22 – Why Trying to Go Viral Can Work Against You
51:31 – Self-Awareness, Thought Leadership, and Going Deeper
52:47 – Heart-Mind Alignment for Entrepreneurs
55:07 – Jenna's Final Advice: Build Your Reputation Before You Need It
Pullout Quotes:
"Keeping the human involved in the process will be key."
"It's important to stay true to who you are in the process."
"PR is not about one media hit."
"Your story is one of your most valuable assets that you can possibly have."
"You are the product. You are the story."
SOCIAL:
Website: https://jmgpublicrelations.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennaguarneri
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jenguarneri
 
Disclaimer: Please be aware that the opinions and perspectives conveyed in this podcast are solely those of our guests and do not necessarily represent the views, ideologies, or principles of Super Entrepreneurs Podcast, its associated entities, or any organizations they represent or are affiliated with. We provide a platform for discussion and exploration, and the content of each episode is understood to be independent expressions from our guests, rather than a reflection of the beliefs held by the podcast or its hosts.

One more thing - if there's a decision, direction, or situation in your business or life that you've been going back and forth on, I recently created a free Clarity Audit that may be useful.
It takes about five minutes and gives you a personalized reflection on what may be making the decision feel harder than it needs to be - including the difference between what actually needs your attention and the extra noise around it.
You'll also leave with a clearer way to look at your next step.
Take the free Clarity Audit:
https://start.shahiddurrani.com/the-clarity-audit

What if your ROAS looks healthy while your advertising is quietly hurting profitability?
In this episode of the Super Entrepreneurs Podcast, Shahid Durrani sits down with Hal Smith, founder of H Street Digital, a performance marketing agency focused on helping outdoor and DTC e-commerce brands scale profitably.
Hal explains why return on ad spend can be misleading when founders don't separate new customers from existing customers, understand contribution margin, or know their true customer acquisition cost.
And he doesn't stop at the numbers.
We get into finding the right hero product, why traditional A/B testing can be too slow, how Meta's algorithms actually allocate advertising dollars, customer persona research, lifetime value, AI-assisted marketing research, and why creative has increasingly become the targeting mechanism itself.
Hal also shares an important warning about AI-generated content: making more content is easy now, but authenticity still matters.
If you run an e-commerce brand, manage paid media, or simply want a clearer view of profitable growth, there's plenty to think about in this conversation.
🔔 Super Entrepreneurs Podcast To watch more videos and get new video updates please subscribe to our channel and stay with us: https://www.youtube.com/@SuperEntrepreneursPod
✅ Stay Connected With Us:
👉 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/officialshahiddurrani/
👉 SEP Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/superentrepreneurs
👉 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/officialshahiddurrani/
👉 SEP Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/superentrepreneurspod
👉 X: https://twitter.com/officialshahidd
👉 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shahid-durrani/
👉 Website: https://shahiddurrani.com/
=============================
Chapter Stamps:
00:00 – Introduction to Hal Smith
00:48 – H Street Digital, $2M+ revenue and the agency's focus
02:35 – Why Hal believes ROAS can be misleading
05:29 – Contribution margin vs. ROAS
07:21 – New customers vs. existing customers
10:01 – Optimizing Meta ads for new customer purchases
12:16 – How to identify your hero product
14:19 – Why traditional A/B testing can be too slow
17:46 – Can Meta's AI eventually replace marketing agencies?
20:46 – How Hal builds customer personas
22:43 – Using AI to speed up customer research
23:33 – When the product you want to sell isn't the product you should scale
26:27 – How bundling increased profitability and revenue
28:47 – What to check if your ROAS looks strong
30:57 – The marketing numbers founders should watch
33:24 – Customer lifetime value and acquisition cost
35:41 – Why founders miss the big-picture numbers
36:24 – AI, bad data and "garbage in, garbage out"
39:28 – Cleaning up financial and customer data
42:21 – Why individual marketing KPIs can mislead you
43:39 – Why creative is becoming the new targeting
45:34 – AI-generated creative vs. authenticity
46:44 – Should Reels have thumbnails?
47:21 – Closing thoughts
Pullout Quotes:
"If you only look at return on ad spend by itself, you're not looking about how it affects a business holistically or how the business is doing from all its other channels."
"If you're gonna pay money for ads to go serve ads to existing customers, it's pretty much a waste of money."
"Meta does not have a brand's best interest in mind. They have Meta's best interest in mind."
"A lot of agencies, you know, like to kind of hide and not be as direct and forthright with their clients. So they distract them with metrics that don't matter."
"Creative is targeting today on Meta specifically because Meta has actually removed most targeting features."
 
Social:
Website: https://hstreetdigital.co/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hal-smith-hstreet
 
Disclaimer: Please be aware that the opinions and perspectives conveyed in this podcast are solely those of our guests and do not necessarily represent the views, ideologies, or principles of Super Entrepreneurs Podcast, its associated entities, or any organizations they represent or are affiliated with. We provide a platform for discussion and exploration, and the content of each episode is understood to be independent expressions from our guests, rather than a reflection of the beliefs held by the podcast or its hosts.

SCALE SMARTER. OPERATE CLEANER. EXIT STRONGER.
I help digital business owners turn founder-led companies into scalable, AI-enhanced, buyer-ready businesses. That means improving decision-making, removing growth bottlenecks, and increasing enterprise value so the business can perform better now and become more attractive later. If you're curious what your business may be worth today, start with a free business valuation
https://flippa.com/lps/shahiddurrani/