Business MVP

Why do so many entrepreneurs build and scale successful businesses, but still feel unfulfilled, lost, and misaligned? Today’s episode reveals how building your life and personal values with the same focus, strategy, and intention as building a business will reveal your true mission. In this episode, entrepreneur and life design coach Steve Davis Jr. talks to Sammy about how viewing your life as a product creates more authenticity, flexibility, and confidence in your decisions. He breaks down how to implement the principles of design thinking into your life and business, the journaling techn

While most coaching businesses have jumped into the deep end of social media, digital marketing, and online courses, some industries are still hesitant to take the leap. Today’s episode will show you that building an online coaching business can be highly profitable, regardless of your industry.  In this episode, global swimming coach and two-time USA Junior National Champion Abbie Fish joins Sammy to talk about how she disrupted the industry of coaching swimming through online courses. She walks through her biggest challenges scaling her business with no business experience and how she lev

Why do you keep hitting roadblocks in your personal, financial, and business growth when you have the skills and paycheck you theoretically need to succeed?  In this episode, NFL veteran and financial educator Jedidiah Collins joins Sammy to discuss why so many professional athletes go broke soon after making millions. He also breaks down why work-life balance is unattainable for entrepreneurs, how to effectively run and scale multiple businesses simultaneously, and the shocking skills that will future-proof entrepreneurs and business leaders in the age of AI.  In this episode, Sammy and

Eric Ravotti has spent his entire career solving the same problem in different arenas: how do you help a team perform at its highest level? First as a Penn State linebacker and Pittsburgh Steelers draft pick, then as an entrepreneur, and now as an executive helping scale companies across the country. From running his own real estate company to helping transform brands like Rue21, GNC, and MacBid, Eric has built a reputation for turning growth into a repeatable system. In this episode, he joins Sammy to discuss leadership, business growth, organizational culture, scaling teams, overcoming adver

What happens when your five-year plan, ten-year plan, or entire career falls apart unexpectedly? How do you leverage that setback to forge a new path for success?  When a career-ending shoulder injury detonated Ryan Schachtner's dream of playing professional baseball, he had to rethink everything he thought he knew about success. With no roadmap for what came next, he rebuilt his life from scratch, entering financial services on a commission-only salary and eventually building one of the fastest-growing financial planning firms in the Southeast. Today, Ryan is known as the "Athlete Financia

Peak performance experts agree that a determined mindset is the key to success. But what are actionable steps we can take to develop unshakable resilience that will make success inevitable? At 14, when Ephraim Salaam told his guidance counselor he wanted to play in the NFL, she told him to pick something more realistic. He responded with a question that shaped the rest of his life: why couldn’t he be the one who made it? Ephraim went on to become a seventh-round draft pick and start in a Super Bowl at 22, yet he still carried the mindset of someone fighting to prove he belonged. That underd

After going undrafted and missing out on the NFL, Nik Lewis was ready to walk away from football altogether. Attending one last tryout launched a 14-year CFL career, two Grey Cup championships, and a Hall of Fame legacy that included becoming the league's all-time receptions leader. But Nik's biggest lesson wasn't about football; it was about ownership. Today, he's helping athletes build brands, create content, and prepare for life after sports through entrepreneurship, media, and mentorship. In this episode, Nik joins Sammy to share leadership lessons from professional sports, the mindset beh

Hewitt Tomlin saw a problem nobody was solving. As a college quarterback, he watched athletes train from paper packets while smartphones were changing everything else. So he built a software platform to bring strength and conditioning into the digital age. After years of rejected pitches, failed fundraising attempts, and balancing a start-up alongside full-time jobs, Hewitt chose a different path. He built a business that customers would pay for, which helped turn TeamBuildr into one of the leading sports platforms. In this episode, Hewitt joins Sammy to share how the lessons he learned as an

One call ended Jack Oujo's dream of reaching the major leagues. After spending eight years as a professional baseball umpire, he was released just short of the top level. Instead of letting rejection define him, he used it as fuel to reinvent himself, eventually building one of the nation's leading tax-focused wealth management firms with more than $800 million in assets. In this episode, Jack joins Sammy to share the lessons baseball taught him about pressure, decision-making, mentorship, customer experience, and why doing the right thing consistently became the foundation of both his busines

Marques Ogden’s life after the NFL looked like a textbook success story. He built an eight-figure business that earned him industry-wide recognition. Then, one award, a growing ego, and a series of poor decisions brought everything crashing down. Within 90 days, the business was gone, and Marques found himself broke, unemployed, and questioning everything. Instead of staying there, he rebuilt from scratch, transforming his biggest failure into the foundation for a new career as a keynote speaker, author, and business advisor. In this episode, Marques joins Sammy to share the dangers of uncheck

Angela Ruggiero achieved what most athletes spend a lifetime chasing before she turned 20. As the youngest player on the first-ever U.S. women's Olympic hockey team, she won Olympic gold and went on to build one of the most decorated careers in women's hockey history. In her second act, after earning an MBA from Harvard, Angela entered the world of entrepreneurship and founded Sports Innovation Lab, helping sports organizations make smarter business decisions through data and consumer insights. In this episode, Angela joins Sammy to share lessons on leadership and entrepreneurship, how elite a

Sam Acho spent years chasing what he thought success looked like. After helping lead the University of Texas to a national championship, earning a multimillion-dollar NFL contract, and building a nine-year NFL career, he reached the milestone he had spent years pursuing. But instead of fulfillment, he was left questioning whether all of it was enough. That realization pushed him to build a life centered on faith, family, service, and impact. Today, Sam helps athletes and families build generational wealth while leading humanitarian initiatives in Nigeria and communities across the United State

A devastating injury left Ben Utecht undrafted and on the verge of losing his NFL dream. But his toughest challenge came years later, after winning a Super Bowl with the Indianapolis Colts, when multiple concussions forced him into retirement and another unexpected transition. The injuries left him struggling with memory loss. Instead of letting adversity define him, Ben built a new mission around leadership, culture, and brain health. In this episode, Ben joins Sammy to share lessons from Tony Dungy's servant leadership philosophy, why culture should be treated like a business strategy, and h

Are you an entrepreneur or business leader ready to maximize your business's performance and potential? Welcome to Business MVP with Sammy Peterson, the podcast for business leaders who are ready to build a championship business. In this podcast, you'll learn how elite athletes and sports entrepreneurs used the mindset that won them Olympic medals, Super Bowl rings, and championship titles to build highly profitable and successful businesses. Hosted by Sammy Peterson, an acclaimed executive leader, legal strategist, and mom of three competitive athletes, Business MVP will give you the