Courtney Epps is a tax strategist, international speaker, and author of the best-selling books More Relaxing, Less Taxing and What’s Your Plan B?. She and her family own a full-service accounting firm in Greer called OTB Tax, which serves clients in every U.S. state. She has owned her practice for twenty years.

What sets their firm apart is its focus on tax strategy—not just preparing returns, but helping clients legally, morally, and ethically free up money. Courtney has developed broad expertise across a range of industries, including traditional, home-based, and network marketing businesses. She works with clients ranging from startups to companies generating up to $25 million in revenue.

OTB Tax ranked #538 on the Inc. 5000 list in 2020 and #807 in 2021.

Jonathan Mast, founder of White Beard Strategies, helps businesses harness AI for real growth. With 600k+ followers, he makes AI practical and human-focused, helping teams save time, boost profits, and amplify creativity.

In this interview, Jonathan walks through the real-world use of AI, not just as a gimmick, but as a lever to scale. You’ll learn how to use AI to generate leads, systematize follow-up, personalize messaging at scale, and integrate into your existing tech stack. Jonathan also addresses the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make when using AI and how to avoid wasting time on tools that don’t move the needle.

If you’ve been curious about AI but unsure where to start, this session delivers clear, actionable insight into using technology to unlock profitability no tech degree required.

Lori is a marketing strategist and business coach and founder of the Midlife Business Academy, where she helps midlife entrepreneurs build businesses that fit their lives and attract the right clients. As host of over 300 episodes of The Encore Entrepreneur - now rebranded as the Midlife Business Academy Podcast - Lori has spent years teaching practical strategies that make marketing simple, profitable, and sustainable. Drawing on her own experience of reinventing her career in midlife, she specializes in digital presence, client journey design, and frameworks that take the guesswork out of growth. She shows it’s never too late to build the business (and the life) you truly want.

In this conversation, Lori unpacks the underestimated power of social proof and why it’s the key to making sales before a conversation ever happens. She explains how testimonials, case studies, certifications, and authority markers work together to move leads from skepticism to “ready to buy.”

If you’ve ever wondered why your referrals love you but your leads hesitate, this interview delivers the clarity and tools to close that gap using what others are already saying about you.

Scott Wise is a nationally recognized expert in profitability analytics, finance transformation, and AI strategy. For more than 25 years, he’s helped Fortune 500 companies and entrepreneurial leaders uncover the true drivers of profit, reduce costs, and make better decisions faster.

As the author of Actionable Profitability Analytics, Scott has pioneered modeling methodologies to identify and improve costs and profit margins, focusing on the economics of the business, not just the accounting. His work has transformed how organizations measure, manage, and engineer profitable growth, delivering deeper insights into what truly drives financial performance.

Today, through his work as Managing Partner of Armada Solutions, Scott helps business leaders drive more profitable behaviors through advanced analytics, and through his company ScottWise.ai, he explores AI adoption and acceleration as a catalyst for profitable growth. He bridges the worlds of finance and technology, showing leaders how to turn data and disruption into practical decisions that create measurable results.

A former Big 4 consultant, Scott is a trusted advisor to CFOs, CEOs, and business owners navigating the intersection of performance, innovation, and leadership. He holds executive certifications in Artificial Intelligence from MIT and the University of Oxford and is passionate about helping leaders use AI not to replace people, but to amplify their expertise.

In this value-packed session, Scott reframes AI not as a threat, but as a profit multiplier. He shows how to approach AI through the lens of business clarity and customer experience, not just technology. If you've been overwhelmed or uncertain about AI tools, this conversation cuts through the noise with real-world use cases for cash flow acceleration, decision-making support, and productivity breakthroughs.

This session is for forward-thinking leaders ready to turn disruption into decisive action and scale smarter, not just faster.

Antoni Lacinai is an international keynote speaker and executive coach. He inspires leaders and teams on communication, leadership, and employee engagement, helping organizations create high-performing teams and happy workplaces

Antoni was nominated as the international speaker of the year in Finland in 2022. In 2019, he came in 3rd place at the Swedish Championship of Storytelling, and he has also been voted one of the most popular speakers in Sweden in the last five years. His TEDx talk has been an inspiration to more than 400,000 viewers.

He has also written a radio theater play and a novel, and he has one whole song on Spotify.

In this session, Antoni reveals the communication habits that separate good leaders from great ones, especially when it comes to aligning your team, building trust, and driving sustainable profitability. You’ll discover the invisible link between employee engagement and customer experience, and why emotional safety is your most undervalued performance metric.

Whether you're scaling a team or reinventing your leadership model, Antoni’s insights will challenge and inspire you to lead with both heart and strategy and get your people aligned behind your vision.

Charlie Diamond is a dynamic strategist, data-driven thinker, and founder of multiple ventures focused on helping entrepreneurs monetize their expertise through scalable systems and mindset expansion. With a unique ability to blend spiritual alignment with strategic execution, Charlie supports coaches, consultants, and service providers in turning vision into predictable, profitable action.

In this joint interview with Patricia Stepler, Charlie brings a powerful complement of grounded systems thinking and energetic awareness. Together, they unpack the interplay between your internal beliefs and your external business model, and how both need to be aligned to unlock lasting profitability.

Charlie shares how to forecast profit using simple data models, what it means to “normalize prosperity,” and how to shift from hustle-driven growth to strategic scalability. You’ll also hear practical insights on building offers that reflect your value, and why nervous system regulation is just as important as a marketing plan.

If you've ever felt stuck between your purpose and your profit goals, this conversation is the bridge.

Bonnie Hardie is the owner of "Phoenix Rising Coaching" and is a Award Nominated Life Enhancement Coach specializing in Mindset, Mental Health, Motivation - Currently based in Central Florida.

She Empowers Midlife Women to say 'Bon Voyage' to the Shackles in their mind so that they can live the life of their dreams.

She is a Vision Board & Wheel of Life Expert.

Her "5x5 Formula for a Rock Solid Day" Routine has been shown to people from 10+ countries.

She has a unique way of Journaling using the "Green Yellow Red" Method.

Sebastian J. SEBASTIAN UZCÁTEGUI Entrepreneur • Speaker • Coach Rooted in Purpose. Driven by Passion. Built on Integrity. Meet Sebastian My name is Sebastian Uzcategui, and my life has been shaped by a relentless pursuit of purpose, freedom, and impact. I was born in Venezuela and moved to Florida at the age of 3, carrying with me not just the hopes of my family but the weight of their sacrifice. As an only child, I felt that responsibility deeply, and I’ve spent my life turning that pressure into purpose.

I discovered entrepreneurship early. At 14, I started studying the stock market. At 16, I launched my first business. And by 18, I founded Stocks University a platform that would go on to educate over 1,200 students in financial literacy, trading, and empowerment. But success didn’t come overnight. I spent years building in obscurity, facing setbacks, dead ends, and what felt like endless grind. Then, everything changed. I found my voice and stepped into it. After struggling for years to grow through traditional marketing methods, it was public speaking that transformed everything.

Through a handful of key events, I was able to quadruple my business and scale it to multiple six figures. Not through ads, not through algorithms, but by standing in rooms, telling the truth, and serving people with integrity and clarity. That experience didn’t just grow my business it reshaped my mission. Since then, I’ve had the honor of speaking on platforms like the United Nations, TED Talks, and alongside respected spiritual leaders like Apostle Axel Sipach and Jordan Brice.

I’ve spoken at over 300 events, including churches, seminars, schools, workshops, and conferences, sharing stages with people of influence and purpose. But no stage compares to the one built on truth and service. Now, I’m committed to helping others do the same. Through SpeakUp.Express, I empower aspiring speakers and entrepreneurs to refine their voice, step into their authority, and reach global platforms just as I did. Not for applause, but for impact. What drives me isn’t performance. It’s integrity, faith, and the belief that anyone regardless of background can rewrite their story if they’re willing to speak it out loud. I don’t teach from theory. I teach from the trenches from personal triumph, spiritual conviction, and a track record of transformation.

Whether in finance, faith, or business, my goal is simple: to awaken potential, elevate voices, and ignite purpose. If my story teaches anything, it’s this your greatest obstacle might just be the stage you haven’t stepped on yet.