My guest for Episode #315 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Kat Halushka, a business and visibility strategist for coaches, consultants, and speakers. She’s the founder of Profitable Impact Academy, where she helps entrepreneurs grow their audience, automate marketing, and land clients through speaking and streamlined funnels.

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Kat’s favorite mistake? She followed the classic advice to “go to networking events and have coffee meetings” to get clients—so she did, hundreds of times. But after exhausting herself with back-to-back coffee chats every Friday, she realized the ROI just wasn’t there.

Kat had a breakthrough when she nervously gave a short talk at a networking event—and walked away with two new clients that day. That lightbulb moment launched her on a mission to get in front of the room instead of meeting people one-on-one. Over time, she built her credibility by hosting her own events, attracting hundreds of attendees and growing a thriving business community. This shift helped her discover that strategic speaking, not endless small talk, was the true key to visibility and client conversion.

Today, Kat teaches entrepreneurs to stop chasing every opportunity and instead focus on clarity, messaging, and scalable systems. She shares powerful lessons on why most new speakers fail to connect—and how you can avoid those pitfalls by making offers that speak to your audience’s present-day pain points. Whether you’re brand-new to business or looking to scale with less hustle, Kat’s insights on visibility, messaging, and mistake-making will help light the way forward.

• What’s your favorite mistake?
• How did those endless coffee meetings affect you and your business?
• What changed after that first speaking engagement?
• How did you start landing more speaking opportunities after that breakthrough?
• What was the origin story behind Profitable Impact Academy?
• What are some of the most common mistakes entrepreneurs make when trying to grow through speaking?
• How can business owners get clearer on what their audience really needs?
• Why is it a mistake to create too many offers or talks?
• How do you help clients identify and refine the one talk that drives results?
• What are the differences between speaking as a business vs. speaking to grow a business?
• When offered a speaking fee, how do you decide whether to accept or negotiate for something else?
• Can you explain what you mean by making an “offer from the stage”?
• How do you structure a win-win-win when working with event organizers?
• What’s one way speakers can make a compelling call-to-action without sounding salesy?
• Can you give an example of a “gift” that actually gets audience engagement?
• What’s your final advice for new entrepreneurs or aspiring speakers?

In this special bonus episode of My Favorite Mistake, host Mark Graban welcomes back Josh Cunningham, founder and CEO of Rokrbox and guest from Episode 244. Josh returns to share insights from his brand-new book, Culture Is the Key: How to Unlock Massive Profits and Freedom.

We dive into:

• How Josh built a culture-first company that’s thriving—even in a tough real estate market

• Why cutting costs doesn’t have to mean cutting people or quality

• The inspiration and process behind writing his book

• What it means to create a Five-Star Company Culture

Josh also reflects on what he’s learned since his last visit, including the power of simplification, scaling with intention, and how purpose has driven Rockerbox's explosive growth.

“Culture isn’t just a vibe—it’s the engine behind every result.” “We asked: What’s the least amount of work a person has to do to move the needle—and how can we reward them more for it?”

📕 Grab the book: Culture Is the Key is available now on Amazon and Barnes & Noble

🎧 Listen to Josh’s first episode: My Favorite Mistake #244

Subscribe for more stories about leadership, culture, learning from mistakes, and growth.

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#CompanyCulture #Leadership #Entrepreneurship #SmallBusinessGrowth #JoshCunningham #Rockerbox #CultureIsTheKey #BusinessBooks #MarkGraban #MyFavoriteMistake #StartUpLife #FiveStarCulture #WorkplaceCulture #BusinessLeadership

My guest for Episode #314 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Mark Struczewski, also known as “Mister Productivity.” Mark is a Houston-based productivity coach, speaker, and host of The Mister Productivity Podcast, with over 1,300 episodes to his name. He helps overwhelmed professionals cut through distractions and focus on what truly matters.

Episode page with video, transcript, and more

But before becoming a go-to expert on focus and effectiveness, Mark made a classic entrepreneurial mistake: thinking that launching a website would instantly attract a stream of clients. Spoiler alert—it didn’t.

Mark’s favorite mistake was stepping into solopreneurship with unrealistic expectations. After being fired from his corporate job in 2005 and officially launching his business in 2011, he quickly found himself burning money on coaches, conferences, and tools he didn’t need—without any real plan or payoff. The financial pressure eventually forced a mindset shift: instead of trying to do everything, he began focusing on the right things at the right time. That turning point not only saved his business—it became the foundation for his productivity philosophy.

In our conversation, Mark shares hard-earned lessons about clarity, focus, and sustainable productivity. We explore how he helps clients move past the illusion of “busyness,” why joy is an essential ingredient for productivity, and why it’s okay to slow down or even stop when your body and brain need a break. Mark also offers insight into how he uses tools like ChatGPT to streamline content creation and why being intentional with time is more powerful than packing your schedule. Whether you're a solopreneur or leading a team, this episode will challenge how you define and pursue productivity.

• What’s your favorite mistake from your career so far?
• Where do you think your unrealistic expectations as a solopreneur came from?
• How did you decide to stick with entrepreneurship instead of returning to corporate life?
• What specific changes did you make to turn things around in your business?
• How did you learn to focus instead of trying to be everywhere online?
• What’s the difference between productivity and effectiveness in your view?
• How do you help clients decide what’s truly worth their time?
• Can you share your definition of productivity?
• How do you tailor your coaching to each client’s unique situation?
• Why is clarity such a central part of your productivity approach?
• What’s your advice for getting clarity when feeling overwhelmed?
• How do you define success without falling into the “always working” trap?
• What are your thoughts on rest, recovery, and avoiding burnout?
• Do you believe productivity levels naturally fluctuate day to day?
• How do you personally manage high- and low-energy days?
• How do you use LinkedIn and DMs to build real relationships?
• What’s your take on scheduling content in advance vs. staying spontaneous?
• Can you tell us about your new ebook and how you used AI to create it?