"The breadwinner trap almost broke us" | John Glon

John Glon spent a decade at GE climbing a ladder he wasn't sure he wanted to be on. He left corporate America in 2014, bet on himself, and built Great Lakes Essential Power from the ground up in Michigan.

The company grew but Covid hit hard. When the debt piled on John found himself running a business on an operating system while ignoring everything it was supposed to fix.

He was golfing and connecting. He was showing up great for everyone except his team.

From these hard lessons, he became a Bloom Growth OS coach and now works with entrepreneurs who are willing to get uncomfortable.

What we covered:
→ How John pitched GE on letting him go independent and actually pulled it off
→ Why running a business on an operating system isn't enough if the owner's checked out
→ The difference between owner-led facilitation and having a real third party in the room
→ How the "excuse chair" followed him from a college fraternity into his marriage
→ What his 19th anniversary looked like, and why a park and a DoorDash pizza ended up being the best night they'd had.

John, thanks for sticking around after a long morning running the event. Getting to sit down after all of that and have a real conversation - that's the kind of thing that doesn't happen enough.

*Chapters*
0:00 Intro
1:00 Who Is John Glon
3:26 What Is Bloom Growth and Why He Coaches It
7:05 The Value of a Third Party Facilitator
11:07 How John Built Great Lakes Essential Power
15:00 When the Business Started Slipping
16:12 The Turning Point: Bob Shin and Starting Over
18:33 Lessons From a Fraternity Pledge and the Excuse Chair
22:05 Vulnerability, Momentum, and Being Honest About Where You Are
24:02 Marriage, Showing Up Wrong, and What It Cost
33:07 The Best Night of 19 Years (DoorDash in a Park)
38:09 What Bloom Actually Does and How to Find John

*Connect with John*
linkedin.com/in/john-glon-2375078
https://www.instagram.com/glon.john/


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*Connect with Dillon*
https://www.instagram.com/thedillonenglandshow/
https://twitter.com/imdillonengland
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dillonmengland/
https://www.facebook.com/dillon.england.5

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*ABOUT THE DILLON ENGLAND SHOW*
Authentic conversations with interesting people across personal growth, entrepreneurship, and lifestyle — direct, faith-forward, Detroit grit.

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