What if the secret to building a thriving business isn't just about systems, it's about empathy?

In this episode of The TrustBuilt Podcast, I sit down with Jim Robinson, CEO, founder, speaker, and coach with 41 years of business experience. Jim shares the powerful moment that changed everything: realizing he needed a business coach when he thought he had all the answers.

What You'll Learn:

✅ The difference between empathy and sympathyand why it matters

✅ How to validate employees individually while building team alignment

✅ Why making every team member a trainer transforms your business

✅ The exact framework for developing trust in one-on-one and group settings

✅ How to lead teams of 5 to 500+ with the same core principles

Learn more about how TrustBuilt helps business owners build trust-driven teams: https://www.trustbuiltsolutions.com/

⏱️ Chapters:

01:26 - The Realization That Changed Everything

02:02 - From Business Owner to Accredited Business Coach

03:33 - What is Leading with Empathy? (Not Sympathy)

04:00 - Empathy in the Workplace: Putting Yourself in Their Shoes

05:12 - The Power of Emotional Connection with Your Team

05:41 - Empathy vs. Sympathy: The Well Analogy

06:24 - Why You Shouldn't Anchor Bad Behaviors

07:40 - The First Two Weeks: Intentional Onboarding

08:09 - How Quick Trust Develops When You Show Up with Empathy

09:00 - The Danger of Over-Tasking New Hires

10:06 - Creating Purpose & Clarity for Your Team

11:17 - Why Small Businesses Fail: The Team Development Gap

12:55 - The Mentor Myth: Why You Need the Right Guide

15:32 - How to Validate Team Members & Get Their Input

17:17 - Why Business Owners Struggle to Let Go

19:21 - The Bottleneck Problem: When Everything Runs Through You

21:00 - Stop Micromanaging & Start Leading

22:27 - How to Develop Leaders Within Your Team

23:52 - What Happens When You Don't Develop Your People

26:03 - Leading Teams of 5 to 500: The Same Principles Apply

27:41 - The Greatest Success: When Your Team Speaks in Your Tone

28:09 - Validate Individually, Recognize Publicly

29:02 - The Magic Number for Direct Reports & Team Size

29:34 - What Happens When Your Team Feels Heard & Validated

31:14 - Turning Introverts Into Confident Trainers

32:15 - Jim's Monthly Regional Team Meetings: What He Asks

33:04 - The Textbook on Purpose in Organizations

33:31 - How to Connect with Jim Robinson & CGP Construction

Connect With Jim

📧 Email: jim@cgpconstruction.com

🌐 Website: www.cgpconstruction.com

📚 Upcoming Book: "Lead with Empathy" (Co-authored with Chris Voss)

#TrustBuiltPodcast #LeadershipDevelopment #BusinessCoaching #TeamBuilding #Empathy #BusinessGrowth #Entrepreneurship #LeadWithEmpathy #ScaleYourBusiness #BusinessFreedom #TrustInBusiness #ChrisVoss #TeamDevelopment #CEOInsights

What does it take to build a thriving business at 20 years old out of a converted school bus, with no bank loan, and a product almost nobody was making?

In this episode of The TrustBuilt Podcast, host Alan Bennett sits down with Stella Rodda, founder of Zenith Coffee Company, a mobile coffee business built on one bold premise: coffee that's actually good for your body.

Together, Alan and Stella dig into what it really means to build a team you can trust, why hiring for personality beats hiring for a résumé, and how systems and vulnerability can coexist in a tiny mobile workspace. Alan also unpacks the three pillars of trust — clarity, connection, and consistency — and how Stella is already applying them without even realizing it.

👉 If you're a business owner who's doing everything yourself and wondering how to step back without things falling apart, this episode is for you.

Learn more about how TrustBuilt helps business owners build trust-driven teams: trustbuiltsolutions.com

⏱️ Chapters

0:30 – Welcome & Intro: What Is Zenith Coffee Company?

2:25 – The Concept: Coffee That's Actually Good for Your Body

3:16 – How She Funded It

8:27 – Alan's Three Buckets

11:27 – The Trust Challenge: Handing Your Business Off to Other People

13:04 – Understanding Your Behavioral Style as a Leader

15:47 – Why Most Hiring Posts Attract the Wrong People

21:46 – How Zenith Got 150 Applications in 4 Hours

24:11 – Monthly Meetings, Feedback Loops & Leaning Into Strengths

26:59 – The Three Pillars of Trust: Clarity, Connection & Consistency

28:55 – Why Recognition Can Backfire (and How to Get It Right)

33:24 – The Missing Piece in Most Onboarding Processes

37:30 – Employee Engagement: Communicating Constraints to Your Team

41:29 – How Stella's Team Solves Problems Together

44:13 – Exit Planning, Business Value & Reducing Owner Dependence

47:26 – Where to Find Zenith Coffee Co

Connect with Stella & Zenith Coffee

🌐 https://www.zenithcoffeeco.com/

💻 https://www.linkedin.com/in/stella-rodda-a9a440204/

Most business owners don’t have a marketing problem.

They have a leadership alignment problem.

In this episode of The TrustBuilt Podcast, Alan sits down with Marc Ensign, founder of LoudMouse, to unpack what a Fractional CMO actually does, why most marketing agencies fail businesses, and how misalignment between sales and marketing quietly destroys trust and revenue.

If you’re spending money on marketing but unsure what’s working—or frustrated by silos between departments—this episode will help you regain clarity, control, and confidence.

👉To learn more about how to build a business that runs without you subscribe to The TrustBuilt Podcast

⏱️Chapters

01:00 – What Is a Fractional CMO? (And Why Small Businesses Need One)

04:35 – From Broadway to Business: Marketing Is About Being Heard

08:20 – Why Most Marketing Agencies Work in Silos

11:20 – Sales vs. Marketing

16:04 – The Metrics That Actually Matter

22:22 – Marketing KPIs Every Service Business Should Measure

28:34 – Client Retention & Trust

31:44 – Why Busy Marketing Doesn’t Equal Growth

33:18 – Free Marketing Resources & How to Use AI

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Connect with Marc & LoudMouse

🌐 https://loudmouse.com/

💻 https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcensign/