QFF: Quick Fire Friday – Your 20-Minute Growth Powerhouse! Welcome to Quick Fire Friday, the Grow A Small Business podcast series that is designed to deliver simple, focused and actionable insights and key takeaways in less than 20 minutes a week.

Every Friday, we bring you business owners and experts who share their top strategies for growing yourself, your team and your small business. Get ready for a dose of inspiration, one action you can implement and quotable quotes that will stick with you long after the episode ends!

In this episode of Quick Fire Friday, host Amanda Jones interviews Stephen Sakach, Founder of Zero Company and AI CMO.io, to explore how empathy and purpose can transform modern marketing. Stephen shares his groundbreaking “Bliss Business” philosophy—building love into scalable systems—and explains how emotional connection drives brand loyalty and long-term success. From integrating AI with authentic storytelling to creating marketing that truly feels human, this conversation uncovers how businesses can grow with both heart and strategy.

Key Takeaways for Small Business Owners: Build Emotional Connections: Brands that connect emotionally with customers enjoy higher loyalty and up to 300% greater lifetime value.

Lead with Purpose: Defining your business’s “why” gives meaning to your work and helps attract engaged employees and ideal clients.

Adopt the Bliss Philosophy: Build Love Into Scalable Systems—turn random acts of kindness into structured habits within your business culture. Our hero crafts outstanding reviews following the experience of listening to our special guests. Are you the one we've been waiting for?

Use AI with Intention: Leverage AI tools to save time and enhance creativity, but ensure your message stays authentic and human-centered.

Create Surprise and Delight: Small, thoughtful gestures toward customers can foster emotional bonds and brand differentiation.

Empathy = Profitability: Data shows empathetic businesses not only build trust but also outperform competitors financially. One action small business owners can take: According to Stephen Sakach, one action small business owners can take is to build love into scalable systems – find small, meaningful ways to infuse empathy, care, and purpose into everyday business processes so that kindness and connection continue to thrive, even when you’re not directly involved. Do you have 2 minutes every Friday? Sign up to the Weekly Leadership Email. It's free and we can help you to maximize your time. Enjoyed the podcast? Please leave a review on iTunes or your preferred platform. Your feedback helps more small business owners discover our podcast and embark on their business growth journey. 👇

Quotable quotes from our special Grow A Small Business podcast guest: Marketing isn’t just about selling—it’s about creating emotional connections that make people feel seen and valued — Stephen Sakach Build love into scalable systems so kindness becomes part of your company’s DNA, not just a random act — Stephen Sakach AI should help us become better humans, not replace what makes us human — Stephen Sakach