187: From College Dropout to 8-Figure CEO with Chandler Bolt - 8FE
Release Date: 07/31/2025
Multifamily vs. Commercial: What’s the Safer Bet in Real Estate?
Beyond A Million
In this clip, Brad Sumrok talks about why apartments have turned out to be one of the most dependable ways to invest in real estate. Some properties look good at first, but fall apart when the market shifts. Apartments tend to stick it out. Brad’s not hyping anything. He’s just explaining what’s worked over 20 years of doing deals – and why more investors are starting to take notice. If you’ve ever wondered where real estate actually holds up long-term, this is a good place to start. Enjoyed this clip? Check out our full interview with Brad:
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202: How 8-Figure Founders Break the 7-Figure Ceiling (Tactics from Past Guests)
Beyond A Million
As an entrepreneur, once you hit 7-figures, the game changes. Scaling isn’t just about more revenue, it’s about smarter systems, better people, and the mindset required to lead at the next level. In this special compilation episode of Beyond a Million, I’ve pulled together powerful clips from past guests — 8- and 9-figure founders who share the unfiltered lessons behind building and scaling successful companies. Whether you’re a founder, CEO, or investor scaling your business beyond 7-figures, these are proven tactics that actually move the needle. Key Takeaways 00:00 Intro...
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Culture Fit vs. Skill Set – What to Look for First
Beyond A Million
In this clip, David Hassell, co-founder of 15Five, breaks down why hiring someone who’s not aligned with your culture – even if they check every box on the skills side – is a ticking time bomb. He shares how culture shapes behavior more than we think, why execs especially need to embody company values, and how even small misalignments can kill trust inside a team. He also talks about the mistakes they made scaling from 70 to 200 people in a year and how those lessons led to a values-first hiring system every founder should be thinking about. Enjoyed this clip? Check out our...
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201: 150,000 Founders Have Used This Method to Scale with Allison Maslan
Beyond A Million
Tons of entrepreneurs claim to be “scaling” their business, but when you look under the hood, they’re actually just growing fast. And there’s a big difference. Growth can be exciting, but without structure, systems, and the right leadership in place, it’s not sustainable. That’s where Allison Maslan comes in. She’s built and scaled 10 companies across multiple industries, and as the CEO of Pinnacle Global Network, she’s helped more than 150,000 founders and leadership teams do the same—earning a spot on the Inc. 5000 Fastest-Growing Private Companies list four years running....
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200: No Bullsh*t Sales Advice from a High-Ticket Insurance Advisor ft. Corey Lilburn - 8FE
Beyond A Million
What if you could close high-value clients... without pitching, posturing, or even talking about what you sell? This week’s guest, Corey Lilburn, is a senior consultant and shareholder at Acrisure, a $35B global insurance and fintech firm. From selling Cutco knives to advising enterprise clients, Corey’s success comes from mastering the timing, psychology, and nuance of complex sales. Corey shares the real sales skills that matter in today’s market, the habits that create consistent closers, how to make renewals a non-event, and why self-funding might make sense sooner than you...
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199: How to Create Funnels That Convert Cold Traffic into Cash with Patrick Riddle - 8FE
Beyond A Million
What if you could create a marketing funnel that works for you while you sleep? Today's guest, Patrick Riddle, is here to show you how to turn cold traffic into cash with a high-converting funnel. Patrick is a seasoned entrepreneur and the CEO of a multi-million-dollar educational publishing company. After getting his start in real estate, he shifted to the info product space, where he’s helped thousands of students grow their businesses using smart marketing strategies. But Patrick’s strategy isn’t just about driving traffic or having a good offer. It’s about owning the customer...
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198: Everything I Learned After Losing $40M with Levi Benkert - 8FE
Beyond A Million
He lost $40 million in 2008... and built a real estate empire from the rubble. Today’s guest, Levi Benkert, went from running coffee shops to flipping houses, losing $40 million in the 2008 crash, relocating his family to Ethiopia to run an orphanage and start businesses, and then returning to the US to build a thriving Class B industrial real estate empire in Texas. He breaks down the mindset shifts, lessons from failures, and disciplined strategies that turned what looked like a disaster into the comeback story of the century. If you’ve ever wondered how to recover from a huge setback,...
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197: How We Grew 50% Without Hiring a Single Person - Pat Dillon - 8FE
Beyond A Million
What happens when you've built multiple companies, lost control, got burned by partners, and then finally get it right? Patrick Dillon has done it all. He’s built several digital agencies, and even a janitorial company. He’s taken on investors, lost equity, made painful pivots, and come out the other side with a lean, wildly profitable agency. Today, his company, WISE Digital, is scaling steadily without the risk of it all collapsing from one bad client, partner, or decision. In this episode, we break down how Pat used AI to scale without bloat, what really went wrong with his first three...
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196: Why Your Offer Sucks (And How to Fix It) with Jake Setterlun - 8FE
Beyond A Million
How do you make an offer so irresistible that you don't even need a sales team to sell it? Jake Setterlun is 29, runs four different companies, and somehow manages to make offer-building look easy. He started out doing Facebook ads for real estate agents, but everything changed when he figured out what makes an offer irresistible. That insight led to The Offer Code, his “Purple Ocean” framework, and multiple agencies doing seven and eight figures. In this episode, we get into how Jake thinks about creating offers that do the selling for you, why most agency owners are still stuck in 2018,...
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195: MULTI 8 Figure SEO in 2025 and Beyond w/Andy Kolodgie – 8FE
Beyond A Million
Is SEO really dead… or are you just doing it wrong? Andy Kolodgie has already built a multi–eight-figure business by mastering SEO in a space most people think is too competitive: real estate. And he’s only 29! Andy started out wholesaling but quickly realized it wasn’t his game. With a background as a Navy software developer, he shifted gears and leaned into his strength – building systems that drive motivated seller leads online. That shift led to Property Leads, which now helps real estate investors scale through SEO. In this episode, Andy explains why SEO for real estate is far...
info_outlineStruggling to scale your business without burning out? One book could change everything.
In this episode of Beyond A Million, Chandler Bolt returns to share how one book helped drive $7 million in revenue, not from royalties, but from its deep integration into every corner of his business. The founder of Self Publishing School and author of Published, breaks down the real strategy behind writing books that generate leads, close sales, and onboard employees at scale.
We also take a look at the big picture: hiring A-players vs. farm league talent, what it means to “go pro” in content creation, and why Chandler transitioned from a fully remote company to building a culture-driven in-person office. Along the way, Chandler shares painful (and expensive) lessons from his early years, like partnering out of insecurity and undervaluing top talent, and how they helped him grow to multi-8-figure success.
Whether you're thinking about writing a book or scaling your ops team, this episode is packed with strategy, structure, and straight talk.
Tune in!
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This episode is part of the 8FE (8-figure entrepreneur) series, where we talk to entrepreneurs who have already passed the million-dollar mark.
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Key Takeaways:
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00:00:00 Intro
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00:01:29 The worst reason to write a book
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00:05:11 Thinking in frameworks and structuring thoughts
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00:11:20 Lessons learned in business growth
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00:16:04 Shifting business strategies
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00:23:14 Content strategy evolution
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00:32:28 Remote vs. in-person culture
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00:39:04 The secret to good leadership
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00:45:53 Roles for remote vs. in-person work
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00:49:43 Management and leadership in hybrid businesses
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00:59:46 Advice for aspiring entrepreneurs
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01:05:32 Resources and outro
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Additional Resources:
🔹 Chandler on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chandlerbolt/
🔹 Chandler on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chandler_bolt/?hl=en
🔹 Chandler on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ChandlerBoltOfficial
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Let's Connect:
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Beyond A Million is a business podcast that reveals the scaling secrets of 8, 9, and 10-figure entrepreneurs. Every week, we share an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the best business growth strategies that work.
If you're an entrepreneur or business professional who's looking to level up & continue to scale far beyond the million-dollar mark, this podcast is for YOU!
Tune in weekly for new interviews with Easy Pay Direct founder Brad Weimert and business expert guests who absolutely crush it in their area of expertise. Learn world-class marketing and sales tactics with elite-level business strategies in sales, marketing, operations, finance, and wealth building.
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