🧠 What do energy, health, and mindset have to do with scaling a business?

Turns out — everything.

In this powerful episode, James sits down with Coach Nate Engels, founder of Wellness League, marketing strategist, speaker, and certified health coach, to unpack why the most successful entrepreneurs don’t just grind — they invest in their health, mindset, and alignment first.

Nate shares real, raw stories about:

• Building his business from scratch
• Learning to pivot from burnout to purpose
• How stress is literally killing performance (and what to do about it)
• Why creative business owners need to reclaim their identity
• And how walking, grounding, and intention can transform your leadership

Whether you're a $500K company or managing a team of 200, this episode is your reminder that your business will never outgrow your personal health and discipline.

🎧 What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• ✅ Why the most successful people outsource their fitness
• ✅ How business stress is affecting your sleep, weight & focus
• ✅ How to reconnect with purpose when burnout hits
• ✅ The truth about managing stress during business setbacks
• ✅ Why movement and recovery are non-negotiables for leaders
• ✅ Coach Nate’s journey from rock band → baseball → health → marketing

📚 Episode Breakdown:

• (00:00) – Meet Coach Nate
• (01:25) – From Health Coach to Creative Marketer
• (03:40) – Building a Vision-Driven Life
• (07:00) – Childhood Programming & the Drive to Excel
• (10:30) – Why High Achievers Prioritize Health
• (14:00) – Hot Seats, Vulnerability & the Health Wake-Up Call
• (16:20) – The Real Killer: Stress & How to Combat It
• (21:00) – Grounding, Walking, & Reconnecting with Your Body
• (22:30) – Nate’s Wild Journey: Musician → Coach → Business Owner
• (26:45) – Staying Independent, Strong & Mobile as You Age
• (30:00) – Managing Payroll Pressure, Burnout & Business Stress
• (34:00) – From Cleaning Toilets to Cold Calls: Staying Humble
• (36:48) – How to Work With Nate for Marketing or Wellness Support

🔥 Want to Work with Coach Nate?

• 🔗 Contact Nate Engles – Marketing + Wellness Support - LinkedIn Profile
• 📍Based in Wichita, KS? Book a private session at Wellness League.
  https://www.wellnessleagueict.com/

💼 Our Trusted Partners:

• ✅ uSource: All-in-one hub for the facility maintenance industry – Start Free Trial
• ✅ Campos Law: Legal partner for cleaning companies – Book a Call
• ✅ Team Engine: Hire, communicate, and manage your workforce – Learn More
• ✅ Swept: Janitorial software that scales with you – Check it Out

🙌🏼 Join Our Community:

• 🚀 Private Facebook Group: The Profitable Cleaner Community
• 📈 Profit Advisory Board: Business Growth Community

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In Episode 2 of Polishing Profits, hosts Mark Anderson, Sharon Cowan, CBSE, and Ed Selkow tackle one of the most common problems in the cleaning industry: growing without a plan.

Most business owners start by reacting — putting out fires, chasing every opportunity, and hoping to “figure it out” along the way. But growth without strategy is rarely sustainable.

This episode shows you how to stop winging it and start building with intention — even if you’re running lean.

Whether you're a solo operator or a multi-million-dollar company, strategic planning is your competitive edge.

💥 What You’ll Learn in This Episode

• ✅ The top 3 pitfalls of reactive growth (and how to avoid them)
• ✅ Why your first plan doesn’t need to be perfect — just written
• ✅ The SMART goal framework and how to apply it in your cleaning business
• ✅ How Sharon saved her operations by creating a backup staffing plan
• ✅ The questions every janitorial owner should ask: Where am I? How did I get here?
• ✅ What it means to build a sales roadmap, not just chase accounts
• ✅ Ed’s brutally honest story of running his first company without a plan

📌 This Episode Is For:

• Janitorial business owners who feel like they’re “winging it” every week
• Operators who want to scale sustainably and avoid burnout
• Owners ready to lead like professionals — not just doers

🧭 Episode Breakdown

• (00:00) – Why most business owners grow reactively
• (01:30) – The million-dollar myth: scaling without structure
• (03:00) – Sharon’s early chaos without a staffing plan
• (04:30) – What SMART goals actually look like in a cleaning business
• (06:00) – Weekly strategy check-ins: how real companies adjust
• (08:00) – Ed’s story: building a business with no roadmap (and paying the price)
• (11:00) – The questions that reveal where your business really stands
• (12:50) – Final challenge: pick a problem and build a SMART goal around it

🔗 Where to Find Your Hosts

• Sharon Cowan, CBSE – LinkedIn
• Mark Anderson – LinkedIn
• Ed Selkow – Janitorial consultant & industry veteran
• Cleaningprophets.com – Where this collaboration began
  
  

🎙️ About Polishing Profits

Polishing Profits is hosted by three of the most experienced and respected leaders in the janitorial industry: Mark Anderson, Sharon Cowan, and Ed Selkow.

With over 160 years of combined experience, they’ve built, scaled, and advised some of the most successful cleaning companies in the country. This podcast gives you direct access to the systems, strategies, and stories that create lasting growth.

Produced by The Profitable Cleaner Network.

Text Our Community JOIN today

Support the show

🎧 This is the first official episode of Polishing Profits under The Profitable Cleaner Network — hosted by Mark Anderson, Sharon Cowan - CBSE, and Ed Selkow.

With over 140+ years of combined success running, scaling, and advising janitorial companies, these three industry veterans share real stories, strategies, and lessons that are tested, proven, and highly profitable.

In this episode, they explore one of the most overlooked ways to scale your janitorial company: client experience.

Learn how create value beyond the scope of work, implement upsell systems that actually help clients, and turn account managers into strategic relationship builders.

💥 What You’ll Learn in This Episode

• ✅ How to personalize client interactions using CRMs & inspections
• ✅ How to upsell without being salesy & the #1 mistake contractors make with upsells
• ✅ Why your customers should never have to ask for service & how data (and listening) create loyalty
• ✅ Retention techniques that boost profits long-term

📌 This Episode Is For:

Cleaning business owners who want to:

• Retain high-value clients
• Build systems that deliver more than just scope of work
• Separate themselves from low-bid competitors

🧭 Episode Breakdown

• (00:35) – Why client experience drives retention & referrals
• (02:45) – What Sharon says most contractors forget to do
• (06:00) – How a million-sq-ft account used QC for upsells
• (10:15) – How to use CRM feedback to increase value
• (17:00) – Value-add stories from 8-figure companies
• (21:45) – How emotional “bank accounts” win loyalty
• (23:29) – Final thoughts & where to find the show

🔗 Where to Find Your Hosts

• Sharon Cowan, CBSE – LinkedIn
• Mark Anderson – LinkedIn
• Ed Selkow – Janitorial consultant & industry veteran

cleaningprophets.com – Where this collaboration began

🎙️ About Polishing Profits

Polishing Profits is hosted by three of the most experienced and respected leaders in the janitorial industry: Mark Anderson, Sharon Cowan - CBSE, and Ed Selkow.

With over 140 years of combined experience, they’ve built multi-million dollar cleaning companies, advised national brands, and coached hundreds of owners across the country.

Now, they’re sharing their playbooks — so you can grow smarter, lead better, and build a cleaning business that truly lasts.

Produced by The Profitable Cleaner Network.

Text Our Community JOIN today

Support the show