Trapped by Your Own Business? How These 2 Things Can Restore Freedom | Cari Kaufman

What happens when you evolve as a business owner, but your business doesn’t?

In this episode of The TrustBuilt Podcast, Alan Bennett sits down with Cari Kaufman of Storyteller Wordsmith for a candid, unscripted conversation about purpose, identity, and what happens when successful businesses start to feel misaligned.

This episode dives deep into why purpose and accountability are the gateway to trust, how personal life changes inevitably shape business direction, and why building a business that can evolve is critical for retention, leadership clarity, and sustainable growth.

If you’re exhausted from carrying everything yourself and wondering how to get your team bought in again, this conversation will hit home.

👉 Looking to build a business that runs without you? Visit https://www.trustbuiltsolutions.com/

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⏱️ Chapters
02:10 – The moment “purpose” changed the conversation
03:30 – Feeling trapped by your own brand
04:30 – Established businesses hit this wall more than startups
05:45 – Alan’s personal pivot: when life demanded change
07:05 – Freedom is why most people start businesses (but lose it)
08:20 – Work-life balance isn’t real — harmony is
09:35 – Building a sellable business makes it easier to run
12:45 – Purpose + accountability = the gateway to trust
14:05 – Why teams disengage when purpose is unclear
16:20 – Purpose isn’t always about the product
17:30 – “My purpose is to make money” (and why that’s not enough)
20:10 – The danger of choosing a path just because you’re good at it
22:00 – When purpose becomes a trap instead of a guide
23:40 – Purpose as the front door to everything else
25:00 – Communicating purpose so people actually buy in
26:20 – Credentials don’t build trust — stories do
28:10 – How trust changes decision-making and leadership ease
29:30 – External trust matters too (vendors, partners, advisors)
31:00 – What most owners miss about their suppliers and advisors
33:10 – Trust as a force multiplier in business
35:20 – Final thoughts: purpose is the starting point

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Connect With Cari
🌐 https://www.storytellerwordsmith.com/
💻   / carikaufman