AI Business Coach Vs Human Business Coach - WE PUT IT TO THE TEST.

In a rare live experiment, Alex Sheridan brings in a business coach, Rick Lochner, and Claude AI at the same time, using his own business as the test case, to compare what each one gets right and wrong about building a business into an asset instead of a job. Rick Lochner, founder of RPC Leadership Associates, has coached executives, small business owners, and nonprofit leaders for decades. In this episode he goes head-to-head, in real time, with Claude AI as Alex Sheridan tries to grow Podcast Builders from $5 million to $10 million in revenue at 50% margins. Key takeaways: 00:00:00 Introduction Here's how the coaching conversation actually unfolds: [00:08:26] Start with purpose, not the goal. Rick Lochner opens by asking why Alex wants to grow at all, before any numbers come up. [00:23:02] Claude AI skips straight to the numbers, asking for revenue, client count, and average contract value first. [00:45:59] Claude AI maps the growth engine: contract value, growth model, and where clients actually come from. [00:46:44] Alex catches Claude skipping positioning, and it corrects itself on the spot. [00:54:51] Rick Lochner reframes the real question behind selling a business: what would actually let you walk away. If you've ever wondered whether your business is quietly becoming a job you can't step away from, or been tempted to let AI do the thinking a real coach should be doing, this episode will change how you look at both. 🔗 CONNECT WITH RICK LOCHNER LinkedIn:   / ricklochner   RPC Leadership Associates (LinkedIn):   / rpc-leadership-associates-inc.   Website: https://rpcleadershipassociates.com/ 📚 Grab Rick's book: The Missing Piece: Achieving Sustainable Success Through Business Alignment, by Rick Lochner — https://www.amazon.com/Missing-Piece-... If you are a B2B company that wants to build your own in-house content team instead of outsourcing your content to a marketing agency, we may be a fit for you! Everything you see in our podcast and content is a result of a scrappy, nimble, internal content team along with an AI-powered content systems and process. Check out pricing and services here: ⁠https://impaxs.com⁠ If you want to start a podcast that helps you win clients and become the go-to brand in your industry, Podcast Builders can help! https://podcastbuilders.com/ Podcast Builders is a podcast production and strategy company based in St. Charles, Illinois that helps founder-led B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. The company provides podcast strategy, studio production, editing, and distribution services for businesses across the western Chicago suburbs including St Charles, Geneva, Batavia, Naperville, Aurora, Wheaton, Glen Ellyn, Elgin, and more. Head to our website to stream every episode on your favorite platform, join the Founder Talk community, and submit questions for future guests–all in one place: https://foundertalkpodcast.com/ #FounderTalk #EntrepreneurPodcast #StartupPodcast