Business Innovators Radio - Dr. Mosongo Moukwa – Business – Mark Stephen Pooler

Episode Date: March 24, 2026

Dr. Mosongo Moukwa is a business strategist, executive coach, and author who helps founder-led companies uncover hidden profit and regain control of their time. He works with capable business owners who are succeeding on paper but feel stretched, guiding them from daily operator to confident, strategic leader.Websitehttps://mosongomoukwa.coachSocial LinkLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mosongo-moukwa/Source: https://businessinnovatorsradio.com/dr-mosongo-moukwa-business-mark-stephen-pooler

Welcome to Business Innovators Radio, featuring industry influencers and trendsetters, sharing proven strategies to help you build a better life right now. With leading experts in business, I am your host, Mark Stephen Pula. We have an incredible guest on the show today, Dr. Monsgo, really looking forward to a conversation with him. We're streaming live on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube. on the E360 TV network, business innovators radio network, MSPNewsGlobal.com. Let's bring in our incredible guest, Dr. Monsongo, welcome to Brilliant Business TV. Yes, yes, good afternoon, Mark. It's great to be on your show. Thank you for having me on. I'm looking forward to a conversation with you. Let's get started. Can you tell us about your journey

and what inspired you to pursue your current career path? Yes, Mark, no, thank you for the question. Actually, my life today is deeply fulfilling. I'm a business owner, I'm a best-selling author, and for the past 10 years, I've had the privilege of working with coaching incredible small business owners and leaders to grow their impact and their revenue. And my insight have been featured in Forbes, USA Today, and the Chicago Tribune, among others. But what means the most to me is not just the business that grow.

It's really the leaders who regain clarity, confidence and a strong sense of who they are along the way. So that kind of transformation is really what is deeply rewarding for me. But it wasn't always this way, huh? So the lesson behind this work was really, they were really shaped by both corporate leadership and my own entrepreneur journey. So long before any titles, any companies, any speaking stages, I was this kid born in the Congo who came to North America, to Windsor, Ontario, Canada, with a dream and very little money. What I did have was hope and deep desire to build a life that meant. something. So over time, the journey took me around the world. It led me into businesses, into boardroom, into senior leadership role, into seasons of success. And, you know, it's also,

along the way, it blessed me with a wonderful wife, three children, and today six beautiful grandchildren. And standing here today, Mark, I can tell you, I don't take this life for granted. Because before I find this work, I was chasing a very different kind of success. For years, I was pulled between corporate life and entrepreneurship, chasing security while craving meaning. You know, each time I wanted to live, the carrot becomes bigger. You know, oh, we will send you to Austria, who will do this, who fly your children business class. I could have stayed, comfortable, safe, building someone else's dream. But somewhere along the way, inside me, that desire no longer fit who I was becoming.

So I decided to jump into entrepreneurship without any roadmap, no safety net. And at first, as many business owners would know, it feels really exciting, you know, until he did not. So my early attempts were really, I should say it frankly, a disaster. I burned through savings, I doubted myself, and I really, I hit rock bottom, you know, emotionally and financially. And every decision felt like a mistake, you know, every solution out of reach. And I remember thinking, how did I get here? you know and in that silence you know that place where your pride has nothing left to hide you finally admit it something has to change and and i remember this quote by nesel mandela who said courage is not the absence of fear

but is the triumph over it so then i realized hey you need to move you need to move even when the ground is shaking And so that's when I realized actually that And I see it clearly now is this Courage alone is not enough If you don't know what you're building If you don't know where you're going You are just this braver man running But in the wrong direction

So you have to know what you're building And where you're going So instead of chasing confidence I started chasing clarity I put my ego to the side I met other people who were far ahead of me. I met customers trying to understand what created value, what also drained them and so on. So that's really how my career started, Mark. So I love it. And that's what I teach you to

small business owner, because I've lived it and I'm teaching them the lessons that I've learned. Great inspirational story of showing your challenges into your strength, helping good I absolutely love it, Monso. What is your framework for helping business owners improve profit and regain control of their time? Yes, yes, yes. My framework is based around the three areas, which is actually what I've learned about actually how one can create sustainable success. One is the clarity of purpose. The second one is a strategic focus.

The third one is Sustainable Leadership Once you get all those three lines, then you're firing all cylinders. Clarity of purpose that is knowing what truly banners and where you're going. That's really important because

you stop being reactive and then you stop seeing everything urgent. So that's like your compass. Strategic focus is really choosing leverage over business. So it's important because now you have to turn your effort into progress and seeing how that could be compounding instead of exhausting you.

And then the third element is a sustainable leadership. So that's really you have to grow without sacrificing your health, without sacrificing relationship and having a peace of mind. Because that is important because success only matters if you can sustain it and still enjoy life. So for that, I just want to share with your audience one story here, which is a story that moves me every time I think about it, actually. So which is the story of John the Baker. So John the Baker, one Tuesdays afternoon, he received a message from his wife, are we still married? The same day's delivery

he quit, invoices piling up, his cash flow drying up, and he finds himself working up at 3 a.m., looking at the stealing and wondering, how much longer can I survive this. Now, John was not failing. It was simply trapped in the same cycle. Many owners live in, which is working harder, instead of working on the right things.

He was not running a bakery. The bakery was running him. So when we started working together, we slowed everything down. We began with what I believe is the foundation of all transformation, which is your purpose, your clarity, your identity as a leader. So I asked John, why did you start this bakery? He paused for a moment and he said,

to create joy, to serve my community, to build a life where work supports my family and not take me away from them. So that purpose was already, was always there, but it was buried under that exhaustion, buried in those challenges, the cash flow and

so on. So once we uncover it, then his energy change. So John reconnected with his wife, when he did, suddenly he was no longer a baker. Now he was a creator, a community

builder, a provider. So purpose unlocked that clarity. Then now we look at the strengthening business strategy. We looked at the 8 through the 80-20 lens. So what we find is that 20% of his product generated 80% of his profit. His best customers, they never complained about price. His lowest profit item demanded most of his time.

And he was underpricing his signature items. So we simplify his menu, we focus on high margin items. who raised prices where he added real value and put in a simpler retention of rhythm, if you will. And then the business stabilized. John also stabilized. He slept again, much better, and he delegated without guilt.

He reclaimed mornings with his family. He walked into his bakery with pride instead of fear. He worked less. He earned more and finally fell free. So within months, his hours drops, you know, his gross profit increase, his stress disappeared, his confidence returned, and he became the leader that really was needed. Now, John did not change who he was. He just changed what he focused on.

There was a hidden gold in his business all the time. He just had to have the clarity to find it. Beautiful story, Missongo, and everyone wants to go to bed in peace and wake up in peace and make more money when they go to work and be back in control of their life. So I love that story. What are the biggest challenges confronting small business owners today? Yes, yes, Mark. This is a great question, Mark.

And I thank you for that question. The biggest challenge of small business owners is the forum. What small businesses are looking for is financial independence. They're looking to leave a legacy for their children and spending time with the loved ones. The reality is that they are not achieving that. They keep working, but there are so many factors at play,

and then you have that stagnation is only a symptom of something else. So tremendous psychological challenges, and pains are just multiple. So what happens then is that you have that fear of failure that begin to start setting in. So they are afraid of failing. so they become conservative. They don't want to take any risk,

and they miss opportunity. And then the other one that happens is that self-doubt also starts setting in. Many small business owners, they struggle with that feeling, you know, questioning if they actually truly deserve their achievement. And this can prevent them from taking bold steps. They also don't want to take them off

because they are afraid that this will harm their business. So they become stress, no quality time with family, which is actually was a key component of their goal. And then lack of clarity and focus. And as you know, without clarity and focus, it's very difficult for them to achieve their goal, long-term goal. So because you have those daily destruction of running the business, they cannot focus on a strategic element and so on.

And then there is also isolation. isolation, lack of support, because to tell you the truth, running a small business can be a lonely proposition. You feel isolated in your struggle. That leads to what? That leads to emotional exhaustion

and lack of motivation. So these are really what the small business owners they are really struggling with. So really, initially, that it's painful, but then they start getting used to living in that space.

feeling comfortable with it, and then justifying every situation without addressing those challenges and pains. I love it, Mazongo. I love how you're helping people. How can small business owners unlock their greater profitability in their existing business? Sorry, Mark. Say that again. Sorry, but. How can business owners unlock their greater profitability in their existing business? Yeah, they could unlock it in different ways. For me, looking at it very simply, you have to apply the 80-20 lens. 20% of your revenue, sorry, 80% of your revenue is actually driven by 20% of what you do every day in your business. Now, so what it means, actually, there are a number of elements.

If you look at leads, retention, frequency of sales, how much you are charging. cost. What I find is that when you look at each one of those and you improve each one of them just by 10%, that has tremendous impact on your revenue, then you can then deduct your fiscal costs and variable costs. Now, you will find that if you just improve that by 10%, you're actually increasing your profitability by almost 50%, if not more. Now, you can go even further, which I venture to say it's possible, increase each one of them by 40%. And when you do,

you're literally almost doubling your profitability. So 2020 land, and then within the 2020, you focus on those key drivers. So what does that mean? I'm focusing on the 20%, but there is that 80% that is remaining. So within that 20%,

what are you going to let go? So now you have to do the example. side. You have to look at suppliers. Who are those suppliers? Who are those supply who are draining me? Who are those customers that were draining me? What are some of the activities

that are draining or taking away from my time? In which case then you can put some processes in place and increase your own productivity. If one does like that, then you'll find that now you are freeing your time. You have reclaim your time

and you can then use it to focus on your strategy and you can focus it on your families, on the things that really matters, whatever way you want to define it. So that's really what happens there. Masongo, you've shared so many great tips of wisdom, real practical advice. I would like to ask you,

I know people can work with you, Missongo, and you help individuals in many different ways. If there is someone out there watching today, who would you ideally love to get in touch with you to come to your website, your ideal person that you really want to connect with Monso, because I know you're a business strategist helping so many different people. Which one person would you love to connect with you and to reach out to you and how can you serve them best? Yes. if you are small business owner, revenue is solid, but you have this persistent feeling of stagnation.

I can work with you, I can partner with you to help you regain clarity and help you redesign your business so that we can focus on what is really driving profitability and help you focus on the life that the business was really, mend the support. And the way we're going to do it, which is actually

my coaching approach, which is that about, we will look at those three elements, as I described, the purpose, the business strategy, and sustaining it. Now, my approach is really about

integrating every aspect of your life. The physical, the mental, the emotional, the spiritual, the social, and so on, into a holistic framework. Revenue we're going to achieve, and my clients, they have consistently seen their revenue improved between 20 to 20% above what was forecasted.

But I like to do more. It's not just achieving the number. I want the individual to come out of it that they have grown through the process, that they see clear, and they are energized, they have now a better quality of life. So that's where it is. I believe that the true success is not just about hitting the financial target or gaining market share.

It's also about creating extraordinary results that also improve the quality of life for you and for those around you. I would encourage, if that's you, go to Monsongomukwa.com.com. That's Monsongua.combe dot coach. Masongo, I thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed having a conversation with you today. Thank you so much for being my guest today on Brilliant Business TV. Thank you. Thank you so much, Mark. I was looking forward to seeing you face to face. So I was excited about the invitation.

Great conversation. I hope your listener, they have gotten something out of this conversation. And I encourage them to reach out to me even just to exchange some thoughts. Thank you so much, Mark. You're welcome. The pleasure is all ours. Thank you everyone for watching today and joining us for Brilliant Business TV, conversations with leading experts in business. Thanks for listening to Business Innovators Radio. To hear all episodes featuring leading industry influencers and trendsetters, visit us online at businessinnovatorsradio.com today.