245 | Why Teaching Your Customers Beats Selling to Them With Shizu Okusa
The Business of You with Rachel Gogos
Release Date: 11/18/2025
255 | The Hidden Cost of Growth and How Smart Leaders Fix It with Megan Crabtree
The Business of You with Rachel Gogos
Behind every growth problem is a lack of structure. Many businesses scale fast, only to realize they've outgrown their systems, their teams, and sometimes even themselves. The result? Burnout, chaos, and missed opportunities are hiding in plain sight. In this episode of The Business of You, we explore what it really takes to grow a business with intention — learning from someone who survived the burnout and chaos caused by the hidden traps of growth for growth’s sake. This conversation is about leadership that balances people and performance, and why data without heart (or heart without...
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254 | How Accountability Creates Freedom in Business and Life with Robert Hunt
The Business of You with Rachel Gogos
What if the thing you’re avoiding is the very thing holding you back? Accountability often gets a bad reputation — as pressure, control, or punishment. But what if accountability is actually the key to freedom, clarity, and sustainable success? In this episode, we explore why so many leaders feel stuck even though they “know what to do,” and how ownership — not excuses — is what creates real momentum. Robert Hunt is the founder of REF Dallas, a CEO peer group and leadership platform he’s grown since 2013. Known as “The Accountability Guy,” Robert helps leaders reclaim...
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253 | How AI Is Changing the Way Companies Scale with Casey Woo
The Business of You with Rachel Gogos
What if the most important people in a company are the ones no one talks about? They’re the builders behind the scenes. The operators who organize chaos, fix what’s broken, and quietly turn vision into reality. Scaling isn’t glamorous — but it’s essential. In this episode, we explore what it really takes to grow companies fast and smart, and how AI is accelerating the shift toward adaptable, cross-functional leadership. Casey Woo is a public market investor turned high-growth technology COO and CFO with more than two decades of experience helping companies scale. He’s served as a...
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252 | What Founders Need to Know About Bringing a Product to Market with Kerim Kfuri
The Business of You with Rachel Gogos
If you’ve ever dreamed of launching a physical product—turning an idea into something tangible—you’ve probably noticed how overwhelming the process can feel. Manufacturing, sourcing, quality control, logistics, global suppliers…every step has layers most founders never see until they’re already in trouble. In a world where disruptions happen daily and the global economy shifts without warning, the founders who succeed aren’t just innovative—they’re prepared. Today’s guest, Kerim Kfuri, brings more than two decades of global supply chain expertise spanning technology,...
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251 | What It Really Takes to Succeed on Amazon with Pasha Knish
The Business of You with Rachel Gogos
If you’ve ever looked at Amazon and wondered how some brands scale effortlessly while others disappear into a sea of competitors, you’re not alone. Amazon can feel like an unpredictable giant—full of opportunity, but also packed with complexity. And as more entrepreneurs jump in, the brands that win aren’t the ones chasing trends…they’re the ones building with intention. Today’s guest, Pasha Knish, has lived through every era of Amazon—from the Wild West days of early e-commerce to today’s data-driven, hyper-competitive marketplace. With more than 13 years of hands-on selling...
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250 | The New Rules of Paid Advertising and What's Working Now with John Horn
The Business of You with Rachel Gogos
Have you ever wondered why some brands seem to crack the code with paid ads while others burn through budget with nothing to show for it? If you’ve ever dabbled in Google Ads—or avoided them out of fear of expensive mistakes—this conversation will open your eyes to what’s possible when strategy and execution align. John Horn, CEO of StubGroup, has helped hundreds of companies transform underperforming campaigns into profitable acquisition machines. His team is ranked in the top 1% of Google Partners worldwide for performance and customer care—and their reputation is...
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249 | The Hidden Skills That Make Great Leaders With Vicky Brown
The Business of You with Rachel Gogos
You know that moment when someone sees something in you long before you’re ready to claim it? For many leaders, that moment becomes the spark that changes everything. For Vicky Brown, it was the gentle (yet persistent) nudge that pushed her from devoted “number two” to founder of a thriving HR firm that’s been supporting high-performance companies for more than two decades. Too often, business owners think of HR as paperwork, policies, or “the stuff you deal with when something goes wrong.” But Vicky’s story—and her expertise—reveal a very different truth: HR is leadership....
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248 | The Most Powerful Leadership Skill No One’s Talking About with Keri Ford
The Business of You with Rachel Gogos
When success starts to feel like stress, what if your body could tell you why? For high-achievers, it’s easy to push harder, hustle faster, and ignore the quiet signals of exhaustion. But for Keri Ford, those signals became her greatest teachers. A former Creative Director turned award-winning CEO, Keri discovered that the real key to high performance isn’t found in strategy or mindset — it’s found in the nervous system. Through her groundbreaking Somatic Success® method, Keri has helped elite women — from celebrity clients like Alison Sweeney and Kaley Cuoco to powerhouse founders...
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247 | Turning Your Story into Sales With Dr. Danny Brassell
The Business of You with Rachel Gogos
What if the fastest way to grow your business isn’t marketing harder, but speaking smarter? In this episode, Dr. Danny Brassell shares how to make storytelling and public speaking your most powerful tools for attracting clients, building authority, and confidently closing deals. Known as the “Jim Carrey with a Ph.D.,” Danny has spoken to over 3,500 audiences worldwide and co-founded The WellCrafted Story Workshop™, where he teaches entrepreneurs how to transform their stories into client-generating presentations. The Power Of Clarity And Connection If you’ve ever struggled to...
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246 | Don’t Scale Your Business Without Hearing This Franchise Model with Bennett Maxwell
The Business of You with Rachel Gogos
What happens when business growth outpaces the guardrails that keep it sustainable? This week, I sit down with Bennett Maxwell, serial entrepreneur, investor, and founder of Franchise KI—best known for scaling Dirty Dough Cookies from one store to over 450 franchises sold in just two years. After experiencing both the highs and the chaos of hypergrowth, Bennett now helps entrepreneurs build wealth through franchising the right way: with systems, structure, and staying power. How To Grow Fast Without Burning Out Bennett reveals the critical mistakes founders make when scaling too...
info_outlineMost founders focus on selling their products, but few take the time to teach people why they matter.
For Shizu Okusa, that difference has become her biggest advantage in business.
A former Wall Street trader turned wellness entrepreneur, Shizu is the founder and CEO of Apothékary–a brand known as “Mother Nature’s Pharmacy.”
What started in her kitchen, mixing herbs like maca and ashwagandha, has grown into a nationwide brand stocked in Ulta, Sprouts, and 500+ stores across the U.S.
Shizu’s lessons in business will change your approach to connecting with customers.
Education Over Persuasion
If you want people to trust your brand, stop selling and start teaching.
Shizu discovered that most consumers don’t reject wellness products because they don’t care; they reject them because they don’t understand them. By focusing on education instead of persuasion, she turned curiosity into loyalty.
From breaking down the science behind adaptogens to teaching why liquid tinctures outperform pills, Apothékary built authority through honesty — and showed that sharing knowledge is the strongest form of marketing.
Growth Without Burnout
Fast growth means nothing if you burn out in the process.
Shizu’s journey is a reminder to pace your ambition. She shares how defining her investor relationships, protecting her energy, and staying rooted in purpose helped her scale Apothékary without losing herself.
Her approach challenges every founder to ask: Are you building something that grows fast, or something that lasts?
Enjoy this episode with Shizu Okusa…
Soundbytes
08:23 - 08:31
“And so there's just a lot of education that actually is marketing. We primarily think ourselves as an education company more than anything else.”
30:54 - 31:13
“The company will grow exponentially, and people grow linearly. So, when I say that, what that basically means is, your company is going to be pacing with consumer demand or market growth. And so if your company and your market’s growing exponentially, there is no way you can have the same expectation for people to grow exponentially.”
Quotes
“The company will grow exponentially, and people grow linearly.”
“There really is a cost that comes with growth.”
“I think of myself as an editor of the brand, more than a face of the brand.”
“Our bodies are really powerful compasses, and it takes one to quiet down and really listen and tune in.”
Links mentioned in this episode:
From Our Guest
Website: https://www.apothekary.com/
Connect with Shizu on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shizu-okusa-87a25415/
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