The Nathan Barry Show

What does it actually take to sell a creator business? That’s what I wanted to get into with Pat Flynn and Liz Wilcox, who sat down with me to share some big news. After 18 years of building Smart Passive Income, Pat has officially sold the business - and Liz is the new owner.
In this episode, Pat and Liz take us through the entire process, from why Pat decided it was time to let go, to how they valued and structured the deal, why Liz was the right person to take over, and how they planned the transition to make sure the audience felt supported. We also get into what makes a creator business sellable, including building systems, community, recurring revenue, and a brand that can thrive beyond its founder.
If you're building a creator business and want to understand how to make it more valuable, transferable, and ultimately sellable, I think you'll get a lot out of this conversation.
Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
01:15 Pat's big announcement
02:48 Liz's journey to acquiring SPI
04:30 How SPI became a sellable business
06:27 Pat's massive success with Pokemon
08:21 The impact of SPI's community
10:47 Why Pat let go of SPI
12:38 Prioritizing community over profit
14:10 The financial aspects of the deal
16:15 The future of Smart Passive Income: Team WIN
18:30 What makes a business sellable
20:00 Merging Liz's brand into SPI
21:23 10x is easier than 2x
22:50 The challenge of selling a personal brand
24:50 The intentional transition process
If you enjoyed this episode, please like and subscribe, share it with your friends, and leave a review. I read every single one.
Learn more about the podcast: https://nathanbarry.com/show
Follow Nathan:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nathanbarry
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanbarry
X: https://twitter.com/nathanbarry
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thenathanbarryshow
Website: https://nathanbarry.com
Kit: https://kit.com
Follow Pat:
X: https://twitter.com/PatFlynn
Website: https://patflynn.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@patflynn
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patflynn
Follow Liz:
Website: https://www.lizwilcox.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thelizwilcox
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/liz-wilcox-58740b1b0
Featured in this episode:
Kit: https://www.kit.com
Smart Passive Income: https://www.smartpassiveincome.com
Built to Sell: https://builtosell.com
Will It Fly?: https://patflynn.com/book/will-it-fly
The Virtual Campground: https://thevirtualcampground.com
Highlights:
01:15 - The big announcement
07:12 - Liz's personal mission for SPI
14:32 - The Pokémon channel's incredible growth
25:27 - The profound impact of communities
35:40 - Negotiating and structuring a business sale

When James Clear last spoke on the Craft & Commerce stage, Atomic Habits hadn't even been released. Now, it's sold over 30 million copies worldwide.
I was delighted to welcome James back to the same stage 8 years later to unpack what he’s learned from creating one of the bestselling books of the last decade. In this conversation, James shares his insights on how to create a timeless product, how he built an email list of over 4 million subscribers, and the revolutionary publishing model he’s building with Authors Equity.
James also answers burning questions from the audience on simplifying complex ideas, building lasting entrepreneurial friendships, protecting your identity as a creator in public, and James’s personal mission in life.
If you’ve ever wondered what goes into creating a bestselling book, I think you’ll get a lot out of this episode.
Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
01:07 Expectations for Atomic Habits' success
02:54 Selling 30M+ copies
04:48 Timeless marketing principles
07:18 Positioning for long-term book sales
09:39 Building the world's largest single-author newsletter
12:44 Current effective growth tactics
14:01 Cross-pollinating platforms for growth
16:51 The vision behind Authors Equity
20:51 The Atomic Habits tipping point
23:09 Why books are an underrated business model
24:48 Simplifying complex ideas
27:54 Cultivating lasting entrepreneur friendships
31:33 Protecting your identity as a public creator
35:30 Why choose traditional publishing over self-publishing?
39:17 Mining for stories and metaphors
43:24 What makes Authors Equity different?
48:50 Daily habits for rebuilding momentum
51:50 James’s life mission
54:24 Authors Equity: working with self-published authors
58:05 James's parting thoughts: 10-year and 1-hour timeframes
If you enjoyed this episode, please like and subscribe, share it with your friends, and leave a review. I read every single one.
Learn more about the podcast: https://nathanbarry.com/show
Follow Nathan:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nathanbarry
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanbarry
X: https://twitter.com/nathanbarry
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thenathanbarryshow
Website: https://nathanbarry.com
Kit: https://kit.com
Follow James:
Website: https://jamesclear.com
Newsletter: https://jamesclear.com/3-2-1
X: https://twitter.com/jamesclear
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesclear
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamesclear
Featured in this episode:
Kit: https://www.kit.com
Atomic Habits: https://jamesclear.com/atomic-habits
Authors Equity: https://www.authorsequity.com
Highlights:
02:10 - James's initial expectations for Atomic Habits
09:39 - How James built the world's largest single-author newsletter
23:09 - Why books are an underrated business model
48:50 - James’s daily habits for rebuilding momentum
51:50 - James’s life mission

Many creators dream of building an empire, but how many actually pull it off while still making time for family and personal passions?
That's what I wanted to dig into with Ben Greenfield. He’s been podcasting since 2008 and has built a massive personal brand around health and wellness. But what really fascinated me is how he's leveraged that brand to launch not just one, but two other businesses that are scaling to entirely different levels: a supplements company and a revolutionary health tech platform.
I sat down with Ben to break down his entire revenue pie, his strategies for growing multiple companies, and how he keeps his personal brand from becoming the bottleneck in his rapidly expanding empire.
If you've built a creator business and are wondering what it would take to turn it into something much bigger, I think you'll get a lot from this episode.
Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
01:12 The early days of podcasting
03:00 Early revenue and online ventures
04:15 The lightbulb moment: Scaling IP online
05:59 Mapping out Ben Greenfield Life revenue
06:33 Audience and platform scale
07:31 Podcast revenue breakdown
09:18 Coaching and its growth potential
11:03 Life Network and Life Market
12:16 Total personal brand revenue breakdown
13:19 Integrated ad packages and whitelisting
16:09 Affiliate revenue and long-term partnerships
17:27 Team structure for Ben Greenfield Life
20:29 Lessons for scaling content businesses
22:45 Lifestyle design and work-life balance
23:52 Launching Kion
28:44 Disentangling personal brand from Kion
31:32 Leveraging brand for launch, then scaling independently
35:44 The new venture
39:55 Life OS's rapid growth and scale
42:47 The power of recurring revenue models
44:31 Intentional scaling beyond personal brand
47:47 Building an empire vs. a lifestyle business
49:30 Ben's daily lifestyle and routine
52:16 Wrap-up and where to find Ben
If you enjoyed this episode, please like and subscribe, share it with your friends, and leave a review. I read every single one.
Learn more about the podcast: https://nathanbarry.com/show
Follow Nathan:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nathanbarry
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanbarry
X: https://twitter.com/nathanbarry
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thenathanbarryshow
Website: https://nathanbarry.com
Kit: https://kit.com
Follow Ben:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@bengreenfieldlife
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bengreenfieldfitness
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bengreenfield
Website: https://bengreenfieldlife.com
Featured in this episode:
Kit: https://www.kit.com
Boundless: https://shopbengreenfieldlife.com/products/boundless-updated-revised
Kion: https://getkion.com
Highlights:
04:15 - The lightbulb moment: Scaling IP online
12:16 - Total personal brand revenue breakdown
20:29 - Lessons for scaling content businesses
31:29 - Don't let your brand be the bottleneck
47:47 - How to build both empire and lifestyle businesses

I recently sat down with Shawn Blanc, a creator I've known for years, to talk about what it takes to keep reinventing yourself and your business over a long career.
Shawn has spent the last 15 years building and evolving his business, from an ebook and sponsorships to his flagship Focus Course, masterminds, retreats, and eventually a completely new direction.
In this episode we discuss what Shawn calls “the burden of opportunity”, how to decide which opportunities are worth pursuing, and what happens when you realize the thing holding your business back might actually be you. Shawn also shares how he knew it was time to move on from the business that had built his career, and how that decision ultimately led to one of the biggest breakthroughs his business has ever had.
If you're building a creator business and thinking about what the next version of it should look like, you'll get a lot out of this conversation.
Timestamps:
01:13 Early Days: From Apple Blogger to Product Creator
04:35 First Product Launch
13:00 The "Bling Ding": $100K in a Week
20:37 The Burden of Opportunity: How to Say No
30:00 Business Stagnation
35:45 The Power of Community
45:40 The Pivot
51:00 The Big Breakthrough
55:10 Biggest Lessons
If you enjoyed this episode, please like and subscribe, share it with your friends, and leave a review. I read every single one.
Learn more about the podcast: https://nathanbarry.com/show
Follow Nathan:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nathanbarry
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanbarry
X: https://twitter.com/nathanbarry
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thenathanbarryshow
Website: https://nathanbarry.com
Follow Shawn:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shawnblanc
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawnblanc
X: https://twitter.com/shawnblanc
Website: https://shawnblanc.net
Featured in this episode:
The Focus Course: https://special.thefocuscourse.com
Highlights:
20:37 The Burden of Opportunity: How to Say No
45:40 The Pivot
51:00 The Big Breakthrough

Are online courses really dead? I recently sat down with attorney-turned-entrepreneur Sam Vander Wielen to discuss her latest course launch that generated over half a million dollars in just four days.
In this episode, Sam shares the exact strategies she uses to consistently achieve massive success with her webinars and online courses, proving that these methods are far from "dead" in today's creator economy.
We also discuss the power of personalized customer interactions, Sam’s genius email list strategy that keeps her audience engaged and growing, and how she tackles the challenges of AI while maintaining an authentic and profitable brand.
If you have a course or are thinking of building one, you need to watch this entire episode.
Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction: Courses, Launches, & AI
01:20 Breaking Down a $500k Launch
02:49 Consistent Revenue Beyond Launches
04:48 Refilming with Kit Studios
06:17 Webinar Sign-ups & Email List Growth
14:00 The Weekly Lead Magnet Newsletter Strategy
20:30 The Unscalable Strategy: Personalized Videos
25:00 Unreasonable Hospitality & Handwritten Notes
31:00 The Impact of Podcasting on Business Growth
35:00 Order Bumps: Adding $100k to a Launch
36:00 AI and the Legal Industry
41:00 Financial Splurges: Cars & Property
44:00 Investing in Your Team
If you enjoyed this episode, please like and subscribe, share it with your friends, and leave a review. I read every single one.
Learn more about the podcast: https://nathanbarry.com/show
Follow Nathan:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nathanbarry
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanbarry
X: https://twitter.com/nathanbarry
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thenathanbarryshow
Website: https://nathanbarry.com
Kit: https://kit.com
Follow Sam:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samvanderwielen
Website: https://www.samvanderwielen.com
Podcast: https://www.samvanderwielen.com/podcast
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samvanderwielen
Featured in this episode:
Kit: https://www.kit.com
Typeform: https://www.typeform.com
Sam's book: https://www.samvanderwielen.com/book
Highlights:
01:20 Breaking Down a $500k Launch
14:00 Newsletter Strategy
20:30 The Power of Personalized Videos