Welcome to Episode 131 of the Built on Purpose Podcast, brought to you by Y Scouts.
What does it really take to build, scale, and exit businesses—without losing your sanity or burning out? In this episode, Max sits down with Chad Nikkel, a serial entrepreneur who has founded and scaled 11 companies, completed 7 acquisitions, and navigated 4 high-value exits.
From losing his first business at 21 to building a $50M roofing company, Chad has seen it all: the highs of rapid growth, the lows of bankruptcy, and the wisdom of starting over. Today, he helps entrepreneurs and leadership teams at Next Level Growth design businesses that scale and give them a return on life, not just money.
This conversation covers everything from delegation struggles to second-in-command hires, from painful mistakes to powerful operating systems that actually fit the people using them.
If you’ve ever felt stuck in firefighting mode or wondered how to break through growth ceilings, this is the episode for you.
—
💡 Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction to Entrepreneurial Challenges
02:02 Lessons from Multiple Business Ventures
04:52 Overcoming Failure and Rebuilding
07:32 The Drive to Entrepreneurship
09:55 Hiring Mistakes and Their Consequences
12:40 The Role of a Business Guide
15:08 Adapting Across Industries
18:00 Hiring in Home Services
20:27 The Importance of Delegation
23:18 Navigating Leadership Dynamics
25:47 The Art of Delegation
31:38 Tailoring Operating Systems for Leaders
34:12 Aligning Values in Leadership
36:32 The Importance of Accountability
38:12 The Myths of Scaling
39:26 Evaluating Return on Life
41:35 Market Trends and Customer Behavior
42:55 Embracing AI in Business
44:41 Innovative Hiring Practices
48:05 Lessons Learned from Entrepreneurship
49:35 Taking Immediate Action
50:44 Rapid Fire Insights
—
💡 What You’ll Learn:
- The Importance of Systems: Don’t sell a business too soon; instead, focus on establishing robust systems and strong teams.
- The Day of Chad: Prioritize white space for strategic thinking and visionary work.
- Return on Life: Balance business success with personal time and family to avoid burnout.
- Learning from Failure: Mistakes and setbacks, like bankruptcy, can be valuable learning experiences that shape future business decisions.
—
🔥 Memorable Quotes:
- “Return on life is more important than return on money. You can’t buy back time.” – Chad Nikkel
- “Great leaders don’t do all the work—they create other great leaders.” – Chad Nikkel
- “Scaling isn’t just adding more trucks, customers, or people. It’s about removing choke points.” – Chad Nikkel
—
🔗 Resources:
🔗 Connect with Chad Nikkel
- 🌐 Website: https://nextlevelgrowth.com
- 📧 Email: chad@nextlevelgrowth.com
- 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chadnikkel
YScouts Company Links:
- Website: https://yscouts.com/
- About Us: https://yscouts.com/about-us/
- Process Demo: https://yscouts.com/resources/
- Meet the Team: https://yscouts.com/meet-the-team/
- Free Book “Hiring on Purpose”: https://yscouts.com/hiring-on-purpose/
- Built on Purpose Podcast: https://yscouts.com/podcast/
- Blog: https://yscouts.com/blog/
- Contact: https://yscouts.com/contact/
Max Hansen (Y Scouts Founder):
- Profile: https://yscouts.com/max-hansen/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxhansen
- Forbes HR Council: https://councils.forbes.com/profile/Max-Hansen-CEO-Y-Scouts/9d4bcbb0-c76f-41b5-aafd-ba0e0e30fdf0
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mhansen44/
YScouts Social Media & Channels:
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/y-scouts
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/yscouts/
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/Yscouts/
- X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/YScouts
—
🎧 Listen the full episode on YouTube:
Link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjwlGgcMvG8
—
Y Scouts is a leadership search firm that finds purpose-aligned and performance-proven leaders to help organizations achieve their missions faster. Ready to supercharge your leadership search and get the right person in your organization? Contact Y Scouts.
