BRYAN & SHANNON MILES: Leading Through Change and Loneliness

The Double Win

Michael Hyatt

Productivity, Teamleadership, Mental Health, Business, Leadership, Selfleadership, Personaldevelopment, Intentionality, Influence, Achievement, Selfdevelopment, Self-improvement, Management, Health & Fitness, Education

4.8 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 12 March 2025

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Entrepreneurship promises freedom—but it also comes with a unique set of challenges that many don’t talk about. In this episode, The Double Win Show welcomes Bryan and Shannon Miles, co-founders of Belay and the nonprofit O’nr, to pull back the curtain on what it really takes to build a thriving business without losing yourself in the process.

From hiring their first virtual assistant in 2011 (who later became CEO!) to navigating the emotional weight of selling a business, Bryan and Shannon share their hard-won lessons on leadership, transitions, and making decisions that align with your values.

Memorable Quotes

“Here’s the magic phrase: ‘In order to be faithful to my existing commitments, I have to say no.’”
“I am responsible for myself and my leadership. And I know that if I extend myself too far, I’m not the best version of who I want to be.”
“If I’m saying yes to everything and I’m overcommitting and my schedule is absolutely full, there’s no space for creativity. There’s no space for dreaming. There’s no space for new ideas or realizations.”
“A lot of business owners are lonely, actually isolated.”
“As leaders, part of our job is just kind of to help people settle and know they’re safe.”
“Stewardship is just simply managing something for a season of time… While we’re there with our employees and leaders, we’re stewarding our relationships with them.”

Key Takeaways

The Loneliness of Leadership. If you’re feeling isolated as a business owner, there’s good news: You’re not the only one.
The Skill of Saying No. Implement this mental shift to help you stop overcommitting without the guilt.
Getting Buy-In For Change. What leaders get wrong when making major business changes—and what to do to help your team ride the wave.
Living Your Priorities Today. Why Bryan and Shannon took a vacation nine months after starting a business—and the opportunity that followed.
The Operator/Owner Difference. Are you owning a business or trapped in it?

Resources

Watch on YouTube at: https://youtu.be/pGdaYmIJPHk

This episode was produced by Sarah Vorhees Wendel of VW Sound

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	So when as owners or leaders, we make adjustments in the business or take on a new effort,
0:06.8	we have to really communicate those changes and those shifts in direction through the eyes
0:12.8	of the employees.
0:17.3	Hi, I'm Michael Hyatt.
0:18.6	And I'm Megan Hyatt Miller.
0:19.9	And you're listening to The Double Win Show.
0:21.9	And today we are so excited to talk to our friends, Brian and Shannon Miles.
0:27.5	Let me tell you just a little bit about them.
0:28.8	I've known them now for about 15 years.
0:31.4	But they're seasoned entrepreneurs, business mentors.
0:34.3	They co-founded Belay, a company that grew to $100 million in revenue,
0:39.3	which is amazing all by itself, because when I started with them, I hired my first
0:43.0	executive assistant, virtual executive assistant with them back in 2011, if you can believe it.
0:48.7	And she's now their CEO.
0:50.2	Yeah. So my executive assistant became the CEO, Tricia. So they're also the founders of a nonprofit called owner, and that's spelled O-apostrophe,
0:58.9	N-R, check out their website, but a platform helping business owners thrive personally and
1:03.4	professionally.
1:04.4	They're also the owners of Nofo Brew Company, a Georgia-based brewery, advocates for building
1:09.4	businesses that owners can step away from without
1:12.3	disruption and passionate about mentoring entrepreneurs to create meaningful legacies.
1:18.0	You know, Brian was one of the first people that talked to me about mentoring, being intentional
1:21.9	about mentoring.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Michael Hyatt, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Michael Hyatt and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.