Founders and coaches on the work behind the win.
Kelly Johnson hosts a weekly conversation series built around one question: what does the daily work actually look like? Guests range from a dog daycare founder to a leadership coach to a winery owner, each walking through the grind that got them where they are.
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The Daily Grind is a weekly interview podcast hosted by Kelly Johnson, and it has been running since 2019. It is the official podcast of the Kelly Johnson Foundation. Season nine opens with the same framing every episode: a welcome, a nod to returning listeners, and a promise of conversations with leaders, entrepreneurs, athletes, and changemakers. The guest list is genuinely mixed. One week it is a marketing agency founder, the next a winery couple, the next a fellow podcaster. Eve Molzhon, founder of Dog Handler Academy, described the years she spent leaving work at noon to train dogs, coming back until seven or eight at night, then doing another session before crashing and repeating it. She kept a playpen in the back office for her daughter and took naps in her car. She now owns a second dog daycare she built from the ground up, and describes the trade as a small sacrifice for a big gain. Naomi Scott, a leadership coach, took the conversation somewhere less expected, laying out dharma, artha, kama, and moksha as four pieces of a working life — purpose, material well-being, enjoyment, and a deeper connection to meaning — and arguing that Westerners have lost touch with the last one. Jimmy Vee, founder and CEO of Gravitational Marketing and connected to Belly Laugh Books, started his company in 2004 and was honest that he might have stayed put had he understood the difficulty in advance. Allan Khazak of Vroom Media walked through building a system across positioning, delivery, and sales so his growth no longer depended on his own hours, and he was equally direct about what he overbuilt and what he cut. Roxann and Brian McGuire of Willow Mountain Winery explained the geology under their vineyard, from an ancient lake to Yellowstone's volcanic deposits, and why decomposed granite soil produces the light, bright, high-acid wines they want. Caleb Wahlgren came on to talk about hosting Brodie Sport Talk, the family-friendly NFL show he makes with Derek Resnick. Johnson's approach is consistent throughout. Questions arrive with setup and recap attached. Answers get reflected back as lessons. Detours into backstory are welcome but always route back to the practical point. There is little pushback and a lot of encouragement, which suits the show's purpose better than interrogation would. Episodes close with a rundown of where to find the show and a request to support the foundation's work. The register is casual and quick. Listeners looking for adversarial questioning should look elsewhere; those who want to hear how people actually built things will find plenty here.
Made for: People building a business or a career who want to hear the unglamorous middle of someone else's story rather than the highlight reel. It suits listeners who like short, encouraging interviews with a practical takeaway attached.
What sets it apart: The guest range is unusually wide for a business interview show — dog daycare, vineyard geology, sales systems, and NFL podcasting all sit in the same season, held together by one repeated question about what the day actually looks like. It is also tied to a foundation, so the show functions partly as an extension of that mission.
The Daily Grind is a weekly goal-driven podcast hosted by Midwest native Kelly Johnson, motivating YOU on your ‘daily grind.' Every episode she sits down with a startup founder, business owner, sports professional, industry expert, or social media influencer giving you everyday tips and key takeaways to reaching your goals. Make every day count and as always, keep up the grind! #dailygrind
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Founder stories become useful operating lessons through questions about products, technology, staffing, customer experience, and mission-driven work.
Kelly Johnson uses one-on-one interviews to make the daily mechanics of building and leading organizations visible. The Daily Grind moves from beauty product development and winery decisions to consulting, leadership coaching, dog-care training, and inclusive outdoor recreation.
One guest napped in her car while building dog daycares; your side project just sat up straighter.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
Eve Molzhon shows how dog-care entrepreneurship depends on stamina, education, and steady growth.
Eve Molzhon's story frames dog-care entrepreneurship less as a leap of passion than as a long test of stamina. After more than 30 years training dogs, she traces a path from corporate America and college into fostering service dogs, then into building a dog daycare through…
A grounded episode on how nervous-system health changes leadership under pressure.
Leadership here becomes a body-level problem, not just a strategy problem. Naomi makes the case that once the nervous system moves into survival mode, executive function tightens and leaders lose easy access to abilities they already possess.
A Montana winery story rooted in vineyard conditions, chemistry, and the daily tasting that guides production.
Willow Mountain Winery comes across most clearly as a story about place shaping practice. Brian frames the operation simply: Roxanne is the heart and soul of it, along with the chemist, horticulturist, and winemaker, while he works for her.
A founder's product story turns color, scent, and climate into a clear business lesson.
The Daily Grind finds its strongest business thread in Tina's account of bringing a skincare product into shape. The serum had to support the skin barrier, be naturally blue, smell appealing, and work for a broad range of users before it could fit the brand.
A grounded conversation about careful AI adoption and whole-business thinking.
Justin Abrams frames Aereo Consulting Group as a firm built to see the business as a whole, not as separate lanes of strategy, marketing, and technology.
A grounded look at adaptive outdoor programming as practical access, growing confidence, and community.
The Daily Grind frames inclusive adventure as a matter of practical access, following how Adventures Without Limits helps people take part in outdoor trips across different abilities and backgrounds.
Rob Walling on bootstrapped SaaS growth, plateaus, and exits — with founders who lived them.
Abbey Ashley's playbook for turning your job skills into a virtual assistant business.
SaaS operators on scaling, pricing and AI, metrics included.
Alex Blumberg interviews guests like Megan Phelps-Roper and Shane McAnally about failure and reinvention.
Kelly Johnson interviews Justin Abrams, founder of Aryo Consulting Group, on The Daily Grind podcast.
Kelly Johnson hosts Annika Murkowski, the program coordinator for Adventures Without Limits, on The Daily Grind.
Kelly Johnson interviews writer and book coach Rebecca M.
Kelly Johnson interviews Cassie Mazie, founder of Bia Blends, about her wellness company and daily routine.
Founder Kortney Chase shares her journey as a third-generation pecan farmer and the launch of Pecana Milk, a sustainable dairy-free milk alternative.
Kelly Johnson interviews Curtis Sprouse, CEO of Eureka Connect, about his background and work improving individual and organizational performance.
Vasa Jurich says successful CPG founders must know when to sell because each next rung of growth becomes exponentially harder.
Eve built her life around dog work.
Kelly Johnson interviews leadership coach Naomi Scott about her journey building health and wellness businesses and overcoming burnout.
Kelly Johnson interviews Jimmy Vee, founder and CEO of Gravitational Marketing, about his entrepreneurial journey and daily grind.
Kelly Johnson introduces Allan Khazak, founder and CEO of Vroom Media, who shares his journey from accounting to building a system that generated $221 million in annuity premium for over 50 teams.
Kelly Johnson interviews Caleb Wahlgren, host of Brodie Sport Talk, about his NFL podcast and daily grind.
Kelly Johnson talks with Roxann McGuire and Brian McGuire about Willow Mountain Winery in Corvallis, Montana, where a 30-acre farm and 20 acres of vines became a winery built after both went back to college at age 50.
Christina explains why Cheeks + Co was built around “clean” meaning transparency, not a loose label.
Kelly Johnson interviews Anika Morkowski, program coordinator for Adventure Without Limits, about her journey into outdoor adventure and the nonprofit's mission of inclusive adventure for all abilities.