What happens when the business that made you successful suddenly stops working?

On this episode of the South Florida Leaders Podcast, Brian Fay sits down with entrepreneur, author, speaker, and AI consultant Ron Szpatura to talk about change, leadership, and why the best time to pivot is before you are forced to.

Ron shares the story of building a successful publishing business that generated millions of dollars over two decades. Then technology and the 2008 economic downturn changed the market. Advertisers pulled back, consumers found information online, and Ron watched the business model that had worked for years begin to disappear.

That difficult experience taught Ron a lesson that now guides his work: what works today may not work tomorrow.

Ron explains why business owners and professionals should look ahead, identify their options, and prepare for change while things are still going well. He also shares why he believes vision is one of the most important qualities of leadership. Great leaders do not simply see things as they are. They see what they could become.

Today, Ron brings that philosophy to Our Future Proof Team, where he helps businesses embrace AI and new marketing tools. He also discusses his revenue-share consulting model and why he prefers having his success connected to the results he helps clients create.

Brian and Ron also explore a powerful question: Can your passion become your source of income? Ron believes finding a way to earn a living doing something you truly enjoy can completely change the way you think about work and success.

The conversation also covers entrepreneurship, taking calculated risks, creating income beyond your own time and effort, investing for the future, and surrounding yourself with people who have vision.

Ron is the author of Future Proof: 10 Simple Steps to Go From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be. His mission is simple: inspire, educate, and help people build a better future.

Navigating the healthcare system can feel overwhelming, especially when you or someone you love is facing a serious illness, injury, or complicated medical situation. In this episode of the South Florida Leaders Podcast, Brian Fay talks with nurse, case manager, and patient advocate Anne Llewellyn about how patients and families can take a more active role in their healthcare.

Anne has been a nurse since 1978, but even with decades of healthcare experience, she discovered just how complicated the system could be when she became a patient herself. That experience helped inspire her work in patient advocacy.

Anne explains how a patient advocate can help patients and families communicate with doctors, understand medical information, find the right resources, deal with insurance and billing issues, and make more informed healthcare decisions.

She also discusses the growing need for advocates among “solo agers”—older adults who may live far from their children or other family members. An advocate can attend appointments, communicate with family members, research care options, and help make sure important information does not fall through the cracks.

One of Anne’s biggest messages is simple: prepare for your healthcare the way you would prepare for an important business meeting.

Know your medications and why you take them. Keep notes about what your doctors tell you. Know who your doctors are and make sure information is shared between them. Most importantly, stay involved and ask questions.

For Anne, success is not simply solving a problem for a client. It is helping people learn how to advocate for themselves. She shares the story of a patient with a spinal cord injury who eventually learned to handle many of the healthcare issues Anne had once managed for him. Helping someone regain that sense of control is what success means to her.

Anne’s goal is to help more patients, families, healthcare professionals, and employers understand the value patient advocates can bring to the healthcare journey.

What happens when a business owner waits until they desperately need money before looking for funding? According to Sebastian Boyer, “The Approved Guy,” that is often when the worst options become the easiest ones to find.

In this episode of the South Florida Leaders Podcast, Brian Fay sits down with longtime friend Sebastian Boyer for a conversation about business finance, leadership, faith, and building a lasting legacy.

Sebastian has spent 15 years in the business finance space, helping business owners prepare and optimize their financial profiles so they can qualify for better funding options. He explains why business owners should think about financing before they need it and shares the dangers he sees with high-cost Merchant Cash Advances (MCAs).

Sebastian also talks about his work helping business owners refinance or restructure expensive debt. Through his Legacy Alliance Group, he brings together professionals in areas including financing, tax strategy, insurance, and estate planning to help business owners keep more of what they earn.

But this conversation goes far beyond money.

Sebastian shares a recent personal experience of investing heavily in his own growth but becoming discouraged when he could not see an immediate return. Instead of staying stuck in that mindset, he turned to his faith. His lesson was simple: focus on what you can control, keep working, trust God with the outcome, and practice gratitude even before you can see the results.

Brian and Sebastian also discuss servant leadership, the importance of continuing to learn, creating multiple streams of income, building strong business systems, and defining success by more than money.

For Sebastian, real success means building a business that can operate without him. That freedom allows him to spend more time with family, serve others, give back to his community, and create something that lasts beyond his lifetime.

Sebastian describes leadership as first being a good student and follower, then becoming a servant leader who helps other people reach their full potential.