Maggie Ishak, Focal Point Business Coaching and Practice Business Insights, and Chris Noles, Beyond Computer Solutions, on Delegation, Wellness Practice Analytics, Shadow AI, and Cybersecurity for Small Business Owners (Family Business Radio, Episode 78)
In this episode of Family Business Radio, host Anthony Chen welcomes Maggie Ishak of Focal Point Business Coaching and Chris Noles of Beyond Computer Solutions. Both guests trace their work back to family. Maggie left a long corporate career to spend more time at home with her children. Chris grew up watching his father run an accounting business from home after leaving the corporate world and went on to build a technology firm for small businesses.
Maggie explains how coaching provides business owners an outside view they cannot get from inside their own company. She describes a fitness studio owner who dropped services that did not fit, raised her prices, and soon found her books full. She also tells of a CEO who planned to spend a week sorting receipts until Maggie asked whether he would pay someone $300 an hour to do it. Maggie then shares how a wellness practice client’s need for better data led to her second business, Practice Business Insights. It is a web-based dashboard that connects to the Practice Better platform and shows practitioners where patients drop off, including patients who visit once and never return.
Chris describes how helping his father’s clients with their computers as a teenager grew into a managed IT and cybersecurity firm. He warns about shadow AI, where employees use free AI tools without their employer’s knowledge, and tells the story of an author who put parts of a book into a free tool and lost control of the work. Chris also explains that most small business breaches begin with an untrained employee clicking a link in an email. Owners need both staff training and security tools, along with the written policies that cyber insurers now ask about.
Both guests share where they turn for guidance as they grow their respective businesses. Maggie meets with a mentor coach every other week. Chris hired a coach, found a Profit First coach when profitability lagged, and joined a peer group of managed service providers. They encourage listeners to build a network by talking to one person at a time and to take a first step.
In his closing commentary, Anthony ties the conversation together with the idea that even a coach needs a coach. He adds that business owners, like anyone building a financial plan, need a team that understands their mission, goals, and values. He also jokes that he once brought a book to a networking event.
Family Business Radio is underwritten and brought to you by Anthony Chen with Lighthouse Financial Network. The show is produced by John Ray and the North Fulton affiliate of Business RadioX®.
Key Takeaways from This Episode
- Asking whether a task would still be yours if the business were ten times larger helps owners find what to hand off.
- Simple data, such as a list of patients who came once and never returned, can show a practice where to focus before spending more on marketing.
- Free AI tools can expose private information, so businesses should choose one paid platform and set a written policy for staff.
- Most small business breaches start with an untrained employee clicking an email link, so owners need both training and security tools.
- Leaning on a coach, a peer group, or a network keeps owners from carrying every challenge alone.
Topics Discussed in this Episode
00:23 Anthony Chen introduces the show and guest Maggie Ishak
00:49 Leaving corporate life for business coaching
03:21 A fitness studio owner changes her offers and pricing
05:03 What business coaching is and why owners need an outside view
06:00 Common blind spots, including owners who stand in their own way
08:39 The CEO, the receipts, and the $300 an hour question
10:08 The three layers of work in the E-Myth framework
11:43 How Practice Business Insights began
16:33 The From Practitioner to CEO framework
18:51 Advice for parents considering leaving corporate life
21:24 Anthony Chen introduces Chris Noles
21:31 A father’s accounting business leads to a career in technology
23:49 AI and the risks of free tools
27:39 Shadow AI and why it worries business owners
30:12 Where technology is heading
32:44 What a managed service provider does beyond basic IT support
34:31 Security assessments and cyber insurance questionnaires
36:33 Why most breaches start with email
37:34 One takeaway for small business owners
39:35 Anthony asks where each guest turns for wisdom as they grow
43:03 Finding a coach or community and the value of networking
47:15 Advice for getting off the fence
48:34 Anthony Chen’s closing commentary on finding your team
Maggie Ishak, Founder, Focal Point Business Coaching and Practice Business Insights
Maggie Ishak is a business and leadership coach who helps owners and founders stop being the busiest employee in their own company. She works with leaders who have built successful businesses but find themselves stretched too thin, too involved in the day-to-day and not spending enough time leading and growing the business. Before becoming a coach, Maggie spent 28 years with Michelin in leadership roles across operations, supply chain, and customer experience. She is a Certified FocalPoint Business & Executive Coach and a Certified Trust Edge Partner, is an MIT graduate, and holds an MBA from Wake Forest University. She lives in the Atlanta area with her husband and three teenage sons.
Through Focal Point Business Coaching, Maggie offers coaching, leadership development, and team workshops that help owners get clear on what matters, build stronger teams, and create a business that can grow without everything depending on them. She is also the founder of Practice Business Insights (PBI), a new SaaS offering that helps dietitian and wellness practice owners understand what their business data is telling them. PBI turns data they already have into simple, actionable insights around client retention, revenue, and team performance, so they can see what is working, spot opportunities, and decide what to do next.
Focal Point Business Coaching | Practice Business Insights | LinkedIn | Practice Business Insights LinkedIn | Practice Business Insights Facebook
Chris Noles, Owner & CEO, Beyond Computer Solutions
Chris Noles is an experienced virtual CIO and technology consultant for professionals and business owners, with more than 26 years in information technology and more than 24 years as a business owner providing managed IT and cybersecurity services. He grew up around his father’s accounting business and began helping his father’s clients set up and troubleshoot computers as a teenager. He has since served attorneys, doctors, executives, and other business owners at organizations of all sizes, and his team has played a significant role in responding to and remediating high-profile cybersecurity breaches.
Beyond Computer Solutions is an Atlanta-based IT services provider specializing in managed IT, cybersecurity, cloud computing, and IT consulting for small and medium-sized businesses, including law firms and manufacturers. The company acts either as a full IT department or as an extension of an existing team, with proactive support and a focus on written policy, security tools, and staff training. Founded in 2009, the firm has earned recognition as one of the top 501 MSPs worldwide.
Anthony Chen, Host of Family Business Radio
Family Business Radio is sponsored and brought to you by Anthony Chen with Lighthouse Financial Network. Securities and advisory services are offered through OSAIC, member FINRA/SIPC. RAA is separately owned, and other entities and/or marketing names, products, or services referenced here are independent of OSAIC. The main office address is 575 Broadhollow Rd., Melville, NY 11747. You can reach Anthony at 631-465-9090, ext. 5075, or by email at anthonychen@lfnllc.com.
Anthony Chen started his career in financial services with MetLife in Buffalo, NY, in 2008. Born and raised in Elmhurst, Queens, he considers himself a full-blooded New Yorker while now enjoying his Atlanta, GA, home. Specializing in family businesses and their owners, Anthony works to protect what is most important to them. From preserving to creating wealth, Anthony partners with CPAs and attorneys to help address all of the concerns and help clients achieve their goals. By using a combination of financial products ranging from life, disability, and long-term care insurance to many investment options through Royal Alliance, Anthony looks to be the eyes and ears for his client’s financial foundation. In his spare time, Anthony is an avid long-distance runner.
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