Ever stood in line for a passport or permit and thought, “How did it get this bad?” Bureaucracy doesn’t start broken—it creeps in. In this episode, we unpack why even great companies calcify: Pournelle’s Iron Law (organizations drift to serving themselves), and Parkinson’s Law (headcount grows 5–7% a year regardless of workload). Wikiquote+1

You’ll hear how complexity multiplies—extra layers, approvals, and legacy tech—until speed dies. (Yes, a major UK rail operator still uses fax to reach crews.) And why some governments deliberately keep paper ballots for auditability: simple systems are often the most resilient. The Guardian+1

Then we get practical: map the customer journey with value-stream mapping, replace approvals with “freedom within a framework” (think Netflix’s culture), flatten spans & layers, and run a quarterly “kill-a-rule” review. You’ll leave with an audit checklist to keep decisions close to customers—and bureaucracy out of your business. Lean Enterprise Institute+1

Sources: Pournelle’s Iron Law; Parkinson’s Law; EAC paper-ballot policy; Northern Rail fax reports; Lean Enterprise Institute (VSM); Netflix culture deck.

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

Time off won’t be handed to you—you must design for it. Run the “hit-by-a-bus” test, appoint a single decision-maker with thresholds, take a 3-day zero-contact trial, then audit and patch your playbook before booking a 7-day break. Think Kintsugi: vacations reveal cracks you can repair, making the business stronger—and you less fragile.

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

Your Effective Hourly Rate (EHR) tells the truth about your role. If it looks like frontline pay, you’re doing frontline work. Learn how to buy back time (cleaner → VA → fulfillment → sales support), climb the Value Ladder from operator → manager → owner, and follow a 180-day plan to shift your calendar into $100–$1,000/hr tasks—so your pay finally matches your value.

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

As a founder, no one’s coming to bump your pay—you have to do it. This episode shows you how to set a market-rate salary, use Profit First with quarterly +5-point raises, and route cash to purpose (Owner’s Pay, Profit, Tax, OPEX) instead of letting it stagnate. Walk away with a step-by-step sweep schedule and a simple rule: pay life from Owner’s Pay; run the business from OPEX.

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

hinking about quitting your day job for your business—but not sure when or how? In this episode, we map a clear, low-stress path from side hustle to full-time entrepreneur. You’ll learn how to assess readiness (consistent revenue, basic cushion, repeatable demand), build a step-by-step transition plan, and avoid the common traps that burn founders out in month one. We also cover the human side: how to talk to your family and friends so you gain support instead of friction.

You’ll hear the story of Sara Blakely, who built Spanx at night while selling fax machines by day—proof that you can grow a business before you take the leap. Then we get practical: timeline milestones, reducing fixed costs, protecting benefits, and installing the weekly routines that keep cash flowing while you scale.

If you’ve been waiting for “perfect timing,” this is your sign. Start with a plan, validate with real customers, and graduate when the numbers (and your calendar) say you’re ready.

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• Readiness checklist: revenue consistency, cash buffer, repeatable lead flow
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• A simple transition timeline with milestones you can track
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• Conversation bullets to win family/friend support
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• Weekly routines that protect cash and momentum

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

What if one car payment could buy your freedom? A bad lease traps you for years; a small, scrappy business can pay you while you learn skills you’ll keep forever.

Episode Snapshot: Chris breaks down why the “sure thing” job isn’t so sure anymore—AI automation squeezing office roles, global competition for remote work, and faster layoff cycles—and shows how to de-risk entrepreneurship without quitting your day job.

You’ll get 20 practical business ideas you can launch for under ~$20k, from micro-gyms and AI implementation services to mobile detailing, STR cleaning, pressure washing, handyman work, photo-booth rentals, coffee carts, bookkeeping for trades, and more. We walk through lean launch steps, how to pre-sell before you spend, and why your KASH (Knowledge, Attitude, Skills, Habits) compounds faster once you start.

Why Listen: For roughly a car payment, you can own an asset that cash-flows and builds you into an entrepreneur. We even run the numbers: a $30,000 starter budget over five years is roughly $580–$670/month depending on rates. Start small, learn fast, and let your first business teach you how to build the next.

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

Big-ticket consulting is wobbling. McKinsey, Accenture, Deloitte, EY, KPMG—together they’ve announced tens of thousands of layoffs while clients feed generative-AI the questions they once paid armies of analysts to answer. In this episode, Chris Cooper unpacks the coming “consulting crash,” explains why AI has punctured the information moat, and predicts that only one in ten traditional consultants will survive.

But advice-giving won’t vanish. Instead, it splits:

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• Mentors deliver high-level strategy—now super-charged by AI that runs instant market sims.
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• Coaches drive execution—now backed by 24/7 GPT check-ins that break work into bite-sized actions.
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Using Two-Brain Business’s own Simple Six Mentor GPT as a live example, Chris shows how solo experts can scale to a million-dollar practice without bloated overhead, while clients build skills faster than ever.

Whether you’re a consultant, coach, founder, or policymaker, this episode reveals how to pair human judgment with machine leverage in the new Augmentation Age.

0:00 – 3:15 Peter Thiel’s “short consulting” quote

3:15 – 10:30 Layoffs & margin squeeze: data from McKinsey, Accenture, etc.

10:30 – 16:45 Why governments still hire consultants—and why that shrinks

16:45 – 24:00 Mentorship vs. coaching vs. AI augmentation

24:00 – 32:00 Live demo: Simple Six Mentor GPT at BusinessIsGood.com

32:00 – 36:00 Action plan for founders & advisors in the Augmentation Age

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

What if every tax hike was really our government saying, “Sorry—we failed”? In this episode we push past the usual “raise taxes or cut services” dead-end and show how Canada can deliver better policing, faster health care, and leaner mailrooms without taking another dime from your pocket.

Episode Snapshot

Chris breaks down five evidence-backed alternatives—cutting bloated bureaucracy (hello LCBO payroll), investing in home-grown businesses instead of corporate bail-outs, reining-in public-sector strike leverage, super-charging civil servants with AI, and modernizing relics like Canada Post and the CBC. You’ll hear the latest numbers: Canada Post’s CA $841 million loss, LCBO’s CA $7.2 billion revenue vs. CA $1 billion-plus payroll, and real-world success stories—from Vancouver’s privatized parking model to digital licensing portals that slash wait times.

Why Listen

If you’re tired of paying more for shrinking services, this episode hands you the playbook—and the talking points—to demand smarter spending, not higher taxes. Share it with your MP, your mayor, and the friend who says “there’s just no other way.” Raising taxes is an admission of failure. Let’s expect—and fund—better.

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/