Most companies reward their best people by promoting them out of what they're actually good at. Your top salesperson becomes a sales manager. Your best developer becomes a team lead. And suddenly you're paying them more to do a job they weren't trained for — while they generate fewer results doing the job they were hired for.

There's a better way. And it starts with understanding the difference between a coach and a mentor.

In this episode, Chris Cooper breaks down the two-track system the best companies use to develop their people from the inside. Coaches help employees apply company standards and perform their jobs better — they're an investment in performance. Mentors help employees build careers and see the path forward — they're an investment in retention.

You'll learn how to identify the right people for each role, how to teach them to transfer their skills effectively (because being great at something doesn't automatically make you great at teaching it), and how to run a 3-month test to measure whether your coaching program is generating a real return.

Chris also covers how to connect your coaching program to the tools from last episode's company college — online courses, drip learning, gamification, and AI — so your college and your coaches work together instead of in parallel.

Plus: two concrete examples of executive mentorship programs that reduced turnover, rebuilt leadership pipelines, and freed up CEOs to actually lead.

If your best people are being wasted in the wrong roles — or quietly looking for the door — this episode is for you.

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

Most small business owners are waiting for universities to produce the employees they need. The smart ones stopped waiting years ago — and started building their own training programs.

In this episode, Chris Cooper looks at a quiet trend reshaping how companies find, develop, and keep talent: the rise of the company college. Rolex opened a tuition-free watchmaking school in Dallas, complete with a monthly stipend and a final exam in Geneva. Google built a certificate program now recognized by over 150 employers. And just this week, MasterClass launched MasterClass Executive — a 12-week, AI-powered business school built with the University of Chicago and OpenAI, taught by Ray Dalio, Mark Cuban, and Nobel Laureates.

These aren't vanity projects. They're strategic solutions to a real problem: universities aren't producing job-ready graduates fast enough, and the companies that can't afford to wait are building their own pipelines.

Chris shares how he did exactly this at Two-Brain Business, and breaks down a four-phase blueprint any company can follow — regardless of size or budget. You'll learn why 15-minute daily lessons outperform full-day orientations, why gamification isn't just for millennials, and why your credential matters as much as your curriculum.

Your Golden Hour task this week: define one role, list 10 skills, write one 15-minute lesson. That's Module One of your Company College.

Next episode: how to layer a mentorship and coaching program on top of your training — turning trained employees into future leaders.

Business is good.

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

Canadian universities are in crisis — and not just because the government cut international student visas. Fourteen Ontario universities are running combined deficits of over $400 million. The University of Waterloo is staring down a $75 million shortfall. Laurentian already went bankrupt. And through all of it, the response from most institutions has been to ask the government for more money rather than examine how they got here.

In this episode of BusinessIsGood, Chris Cooper makes the case that universities are businesses — whether they want to admit it or not — and they're failing at the basics.

Chris breaks down four specific failures holding universities back. First, fiscal management: institutions that built their entire revenue model around a single funding source they couldn't control, then acted surprised when it disappeared. Second, curriculum relevance: graduates entering the workforce without knowing how to use AI, navigate the gig economy, or market themselves — because their professors were hired under an industrial model that no longer exists. Third, the social experience myth: the "campus life" pitch that peaked in 1985 and mostly vanished, leaving students who were put into groups but never actually taught how to work in them. Fourth, and most critically, the failure to teach people how to think — skipping logic, self-leadership, public speaking, and entrepreneurship in favour of increasingly abstract academic programming.

The question universities need to answer honestly: what are they actually selling? And if it's critical thinking, real-world preparation, or how to manage oneself — most universities should put themselves through their own program first.

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

Anti-billionaire sentiment is at an all-time high in Canada — and it's costing us. In this direct response to the Paikin Podcast's call for higher taxes on the wealthy, Chris Cooper dismantles five of the most persistent myths about billionaires, delivers statistics most Canadians have never seen, and makes the case that wealth creators aren't the problem — they're the solution.

Topics include: the scarcity fallacy and why wealth creation is not zero-sum; the reality of what the wealthy actually pay in taxes; why most "billionaires" don't have a billion dollars in cash; how corporate taxes subsidize your personal tax rate; the real cost of running a business in Canada; what happened when France tried a wealth tax; and why attacking wealth creation is a threat to democracy itself.

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

After our last episode about teaching kids entrepreneurship, many parents realized they wanted to start something themselves. But most side hustle advice is terrible - scams, pyramid schemes, or ideas requiring massive followings.

This episode cuts through the noise with six proven side hustles you can start this week with under $200 and 5-10 hours per week.

**The Six Side Hustles:**

**Virtual Assistant Services** ($600-1,800/month) - Handle administrative tasks for small businesses remotely. Minimal startup, flexible hours.

**Online Tutoring** ($480-1,600/month) - Teach what you know, whether academic subjects or professional skills. Parents are desperate for quality tutoring.

**Pet Sitting & Dog Walking** ($400-1,200/month) - Canadians spent $10 billion on pets in 2023. Trusted local pet care is always in demand.

**Freelance Content Writing** ($500-2,000/month) - Every business needs blogs, social media content, and newsletters but most owners hate writing.

**Home Services** ($600-2,000/month) - Handyman work, cleaning, organizing. Simple services with constant demand.

**Digital Products** ($100-500/month) - Create templates, guides, or courses once and sell them forever.

Each side hustle includes: exactly what it is, why it works, startup costs, how to get your first client, time commitment, and realistic income expectations.

No hype. No "quit your job in 90 days." Just practical ways real Canadians can create extra income while keeping their day jobs.

Three parents texted me the same week. All asking: "What should I tell my kid about entrepreneurship?"

One said: "My 16-year-old asked if she should start a business or get a job at Tim Hortons. I told her to focus on school. What should I have said?"

Another: "My son wants to start a lawn care business but I'm worried he'll fail and get discouraged."

And the third: "My daughter asked why she needs university if she could just sell stuff online. Did I kill her dreams?"

These are good parents trying to give good advice. But nobody taught them about entrepreneurship, so they default to what their parents told them: "Get good grades, go to college, get a stable job."

Except that world doesn't exist anymore.

This episode is my answer to those parents. Three conversations every parent should have with their kids about making money, starting businesses, and building real security.

Learn why the "risky" path (entrepreneurship) is actually the secure one. Discover the three types of businesses any kid can start for $100 or less. Understand why failure at 16 costs $100 but failure at 35 costs $100,000.

The math is simple: A kid mowing 10 lawns on Saturdays makes $1,300/month—double a Tim Hortons job in fewer hours while learning skills they'll use their entire life.

Golden Hour Challenge: Have "The Dinner Table Business Plan" conversation tonight. Ask your kid what they'd do, pick one thing to start, do the math together, and challenge them to make their first $100 profit in 30 days.

The goal isn't making them millionaires. It's teaching them to create value. Because that's real security.

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

Three friends graduated high school together. Same opportunities, same starting point. Fifteen years later, one makes $85,000 working overtime (exhausted), one makes $115,000 through specialization (better income, still trapped by time), and one makes $105,000 total with $30,000 coming from assets that earn while she sleeps.

The difference isn't intelligence or work ethic. It's leverage.

Most Canadians are stuck trading time for money. Statistics Canada reports that over 30% of workers have taken on side gigs just to survive. We work more hours for the same money because we don't understand the three fundamental paths to earning more.

Path One: Work more hours (1X leverage, hard ceiling). Path Two: Increase your skills through education and specialization (3X leverage, higher income but still time-dependent). Path Three: Buy assets that work for you (infinite leverage, no ceiling).

This episode combines Naval Ravikant's principles on leverage with Robert Kiyosaki's Rich Dad Poor Dad framework—but for regular people, not just entrepreneurs. You don't need to own a business. You can start with $50.

Learn how to calculate your "Freedom Number," open your first investment account, and begin building wealth through Canadian index funds, real estate, and digital assets. Discover why only 3% of Canadians achieve financial independence, and how you can join them.

Golden Hour Challenge: Create your Personal Leverage Map and take your first concrete step toward Path Three income.

Stop renting out your time. Start buying assets.

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

Before you can earn more money, you need to understand what money actually is. And no, we're not talking about dictionary definitions.

Money is simply a measure of value—nothing more, nothing less. It's the standardized measuring stick humanity invented so we could trade efficiently. Before money, early humans faced chaos: How many eggs is a goat worth? How does a philosopher survive when you can't eat ideas?

The ancient Mesopotamians solved this around 5,000 years ago by creating the shekel—a standard weight of barley or silver. The first actual coins came from the Kingdom of Lydia around 700 BC. Every successful society since has needed some way to measure and exchange value.

This episode breaks down the fundamentals: the difference between money and currency, what "fiat" actually means, and how cryptocurrencies and stablecoins work—all explained in plain language you could share with your kids.

But here's the critical insight: if money is a measure of value, then there's only ONE way to earn more money—create more value. You can do this through volume (more work), specialization (rare skills), or creation (making something valuable to others).

Your Golden Hour task: List what you did today, then write what value each action created for someone else. This simple exercise will transform how you think about your work and earning potential.

Stop chasing money. Start creating value. The money will follow.

Listen now at businessisgood.com

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/