loader from loading.io

Building Wealth: Christine's Journey from Zero to Seven Figures

The Elevate Your Business Podcast with Adam Koos

Release Date: 09/18/2025

Why 80% of Businesses Never Sell - Adam Koós on the Grow Your Business and Grow Your Wealth Podcast show art Why 80% of Businesses Never Sell - Adam Koós on the Grow Your Business and Grow Your Wealth Podcast

The Elevate Your Business Podcast with Adam Koos

In this special episode share, Adam Koós, joins Gary Heldt as a guest on the Grow Your Business and Grow Your Wealth Podcast for a wide-ranging conversation on fiduciary responsibility, business exit planning, and the hidden risks business owners face when they wait too long to plan. Adam shares his personal journey from pre-med to finance, why he launched Libertas at age 25, and how his mission evolved into helping business owners protect and eventually monetize their life’s work. Together, Gary and Adam explore why 80% of business owners’ net worth is tied to their company — yet...

info_outline
How I Built This: From Sicily to Serial Entrepreneurship - The George Sortino Story show art How I Built This: From Sicily to Serial Entrepreneurship - The George Sortino Story

The Elevate Your Business Podcast with Adam Koos

In this How I Built This episode of The Elevate Your Business Podcast, Adam sits down with George Sortino — a Sicilian-born, American-made entrepreneur who built hotels, restaurants, bowling alleys, sports books, barbershops, and entertainment centers across Northern Ohio. From arriving in the U.S. at age seven, to buying his first hotel with no money down, to creating Sortino’s legendary Italian restaurant experience, George embodies the spirit of old-school entrepreneurship fueled by humility, grit, and a relentless commitment to people. This episode is packed with “cheat codes”...

info_outline
Exit Planning Starts Now: How to Build a Sellable Business Long Before You Sell show art Exit Planning Starts Now: How to Build a Sellable Business Long Before You Sell

The Elevate Your Business Podcast with Adam Koos

In this episode of The Elevate Your Business Podcast, host Paden Squires sits down with Adam Koós — founder and president of Libertas Wealth Management Group and creator of Adrenaline Advisor Consulting. Adam shares how he built a thriving firm from the ground up after starting his career just ten days before 9/11. From grinding through door-to-door sales to managing four major market crashes, Adam opens up about resilience, leadership, systems, and what it really takes to balance ambition with family life. He also shares how entrepreneurs can turn their business into an investment...

info_outline
Building Wealth: Christine's Journey from Zero to Seven Figures show art Building Wealth: Christine's Journey from Zero to Seven Figures

The Elevate Your Business Podcast with Adam Koos

In this episode of The Elevate Your Business Podcast, host Adam Koós welcomes Christine, a former corporate leader who turned her career burnout into a catalyst for creating a purpose-driven business. Christine opens up about the moment she realized success wasn’t just about climbing the corporate ladder, how she built a business aligned with her values, and the lessons she’s learned about resilience, leadership, and living with intention. From breaking free of “golden handcuffs” to embracing uncertainty, Christine’s story is a roadmap for business owners ready to align profit with...

info_outline
The Missing Piece in Most Exit Strategies show art The Missing Piece in Most Exit Strategies

The Elevate Your Business Podcast with Adam Koos

Adam Koós joins legacy coach Angelina Carleton on her show to explore one of the most overlooked (yet critical) parts of building and exiting a business: defining what legacy really means. Too often, business owners wait until the last minute to plan their exit, focusing only on financials or legal documents while avoiding the deeper, more personal side of what they’ll leave behind. Adam shares insights from 23 years of experience helping clients navigate business transitions, and why legacy planning starts long before you list your company for sale. They discuss how values, identity,...

info_outline
The Power of Podcasting: How Traci DeForge Transforms Business Growth show art The Power of Podcasting: How Traci DeForge Transforms Business Growth

The Elevate Your Business Podcast with Adam Koos

In this episode of the ELEVATE Your Business Podcast, host Adam Koós sits down with Traci DeForge, founder of Produce Your Podcast, to explore how podcasting has evolved into one of the most powerful tools for business development and brand authority. With over 30 years of experience in broadcast media and Fortune 500 consulting, Traci shares how she’s helped everyone from scrappy startups to brands like Google and Hilton harness the power of podcasting. From launching your show with purpose to avoiding costly content mistakes, this episode delivers clear, practical strategies for...

info_outline
The Marketing Gap Killing Your Valuation (and How to Fix It) with Bill Woods show art The Marketing Gap Killing Your Valuation (and How to Fix It) with Bill Woods

The Elevate Your Business Podcast with Adam Koos

In this episode of the ELEVATE Your Business Podcast, host Adam Koós sits down with Bill Woods, co-founder and CMO of 50 Marketing and host of the Missing Half podcast, to explore the crucial role marketing plays in scaling your business and boosting your company’s value at exit. With over two decades of experience in B2B and manufacturing marketing, Bill breaks down how building a repeatable, scalable, and predictable marketing and sales engine can elevate your valuation multiples and attract the right kind of buyers. He shares what most business owners get wrong about marketing, the...

info_outline
From Layoffs to Legacy: How Shelly Peterson Scaled a $250M Real Estate Empire show art From Layoffs to Legacy: How Shelly Peterson Scaled a $250M Real Estate Empire

The Elevate Your Business Podcast with Adam Koos

In this episode of the ELEVATE Your Business Podcast, host Adam Koós sits down with Shelly Peterson, President of Kahuna Investments, to discuss her remarkable journey from a successful career in pharmaceutical sales to managing over $250 million in real estate assets. Shelly shares how a life-changing investment inspired her to pivot careers and how she leveraged her relationship-building skills to thrive in the world of passive real estate investing. Shelly also discusses the challenges of transitioning from the corporate world to entrepreneurship, how she and her husband built Kahuna...

info_outline
Systemize to Scale: How Sharad Mehta Built a Real Estate Powerhouse show art Systemize to Scale: How Sharad Mehta Built a Real Estate Powerhouse

The Elevate Your Business Podcast with Adam Koos

In this episode of the ELEVATE Your Business Podcast, host Adam Koós sits down with Sharad Mehta, the Founder and CEO of REsimpli, to discuss how he transformed his real estate business from a solo operation into a scalable powerhouse. Sharad shares his journey from an accountant at EY to a real estate mogul who has flipped over 800 properties and built a portfolio of 60 rental units owned free and clear. As a business owner, scaling efficiently while maintaining profitability is key. Sharad breaks down how he systemized his entire operation by building REsimpli, an all-in-one real estate...

info_outline
Leveraging Qualified Opportunity Zone State Tax Credits with Andrew Doup show art Leveraging Qualified Opportunity Zone State Tax Credits with Andrew Doup

The Elevate Your Business Podcast with Adam Koos

In this episode of Elevate Your Business, Adam welcomes Andrew Doup, founder of Syndication Counsel, to discuss the powerful tax benefits of Qualified Opportunity Zones. Andrew shares his expertise on how these zones work, the federal and state tax incentives they offer, and how investors can strategically leverage them to maximize their returns while minimizing their tax liabilities. Adam and Andrew explore practical tips for properly utilizing Qualified Opportunity Zones, highlighting common mistakes to avoid and the key steps to unlocking their full investment potential. Whether you’re an...

info_outline
 
More Episodes

In this episode of The Elevate Your Business Podcast, host Adam Koós welcomes Christine, a former corporate leader who turned her career burnout into a catalyst for creating a purpose-driven business. Christine opens up about the moment she realized success wasn’t just about climbing the corporate ladder, how she built a business aligned with her values, and the lessons she’s learned about resilience, leadership, and living with intention.

From breaking free of “golden handcuffs” to embracing uncertainty, Christine’s story is a roadmap for business owners ready to align profit with purpose and find fulfillment on the other side of fear.

Episode Timestamps:
01:30 – Christine’s early career and corporate path
06:00 – The breaking point: recognizing burnout and misalignment
10:00 – Letting go of “golden handcuffs” and redefining success
14:00 – Building a business around values, not just revenue
19:00 – The hardest mindset shifts when leaving corporate life
23:00 – Navigating uncertainty and trusting the process
27:00 – Lessons in resilience and leadership from entrepreneurship
32:00 – Advice for others considering a big career transition

Key Takeaways:
💡 Success without fulfillment leads to burnout.
💡 Aligning business with personal values creates lasting impact.
💡 Fear is natural when transitioning—but clarity comes through action.
💡 Resilience is built by embracing uncertainty, not avoiding it.
💡 Leadership in entrepreneurship looks different from corporate life.

Key Quotes from Christine:
🗣 “Golden handcuffs might look shiny, but they’re still handcuffs.”
🗣 “I thought I had to have it all figured out before I leapt—but clarity came after I moved.”
🗣 “Fulfillment comes when your business reflects your values, not someone else’s definition of success.”
🗣 “Resilience is built every time you choose to keep going, even when the path feels unclear.”

Connect with Christine:
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/beehivebrokerage/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheBeehive.Tyngsboro
Twitter (X) Handle:
https://twitter.com/BostonREguru
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/thebeehive.tyngsboro
Website: https://thriveatthebeehive.com

 

Follow Elevate on Social Media:
Facebook: https://facebook.com/elevateandexit

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elevateandexit

Threads: https://www.threads.com/@elevateandexit

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/elevateandexit

Twiiter: https://x.com/ELEVATEandEXIT

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@elevateexit2

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@elevateyourbusinesspodcast

email: info@elevateandexit

website: www.elevateandexit.com