This week, I talk with Tina Tower, founder of Her Empire Builder, a membership community helping women start and scale online course businesses. Tina’s journey to success has been anything but straightforward. She launched a tutoring center at 20, built a franchise that nearly broke her, and sold it in a deal that taught her some tough lessons about business and burnout. 

We dive into what she learned from scaling too fast, how to avoid the potential pitfalls of selling a company, and how she transitioned from a high-stress business to running a wildly profitable $2 million-a-year company—with less stress and more joy than ever before. If you’ve ever wrestled with balancing wealth, meaning, and a lifestyle you truly love, this conversation is for you. Let’s get to it!

In this episode:

• (00:00 ) - Intro


• (02:52 ) - How a toy bear became a symbol of Tina's entrepreneurial journey


• (04:29 ) - Tina's chaotic childhood and leaving home at 14


• (06:58 ) - Discovering Tony Robbins and rewriting her story


• (13:00 ) - Tina's mindset shift from survival to entrepreneurship


• (16:05 ) - “If you can dream it, you can achieve it”—or can you? 


• (19:00 ) - Hustling to stay afloat


• (22:19 ) - Hitting rock bottom and facing failure


• (31:00 ) - Scaling too fast—when growth becomes a trap


• (36:00 ) - When success feels like a burden


• (39:43 ) - Selling the business—a deal that was too good to be true


• (46:10 ) - Running away to find herself again


• (52:05 ) - Accidentally starting a seven-figure business


• (01:01:00 ) - What it’s like running a $2M/year business without burning out


• (01:04:20 ) - Letting go of overworking


• (01:09:00 ) - Choosing success without sacrifice


• (01:13:00 ) - When ambition clashes with contentment


• (01:18:00 ) - Realizing success doesn't mean burnout


• (01:23:45 ) - Barrett's approach to coaching


• (01:34:36 ) - What makes Tina world-class?


• (01:34:54 ) - Tina's most beautiful future


• (01:35:47 ) - Who Tina is becoming

Get full show notes and links at https://GoodWorkShow.com.

Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@barrettabrooks.