From Homeless and Burnout to a 7-Figure Ops Business Owner: Rebecca Kallaus on Starting Over

In this episode of Founder2Founder, Aaron Spivak sits down with Rebecca Sunnen Kallaus, founder of Business Done Better and creator of the 5-Engine Operating System. With over a decade in business operations, Rebecca has helped companies from solo ventures to $20M+ scale with structure, clarity, and sustainability. She’s also played a direct role in shaping tools at HighLevel to better support founder-led businesses.

Rebecca shares the full story behind how she built her career, from working unpaid at a failing health clinic, to surviving financial collapse, homelessness, and personal trauma, all while launching her first business. She breaks down how she leaned into systems thinking, intuition, and self-trust to build a company that now supports some of the fastest-growing businesses in the space.

Chapters:
 02:26 – Early Signs Of Entrepreneurship
 03:36 – How Her Upbringing Shaped Her Drive
 05:32 – Wanting Structure But Needing To Build It Herself
 06:51 – Why She Wasn't Allowed To Work In School
 08:40 – Choosing Psychology With No Real Plan
 10:07 – Studying Holistic Health And Systems
 12:31 – Saving Lives At A Wellness Clinic, But Not Getting Paid
 13:24 – The First Major Financial Loss
 15:36 – Moving To Hawaii And Taking Another Hit
 16:26 – The Relationship That Taught Her Everything
 18:24 – Losing $25k+ In One Year
 19:17 – Starting Her First Business While Homeless
 21:06 – Meeting A Mentor Who Saved Her Life
 23:21 – The Moment Everything Began To Change
 26:21 – The Power Of Reframing Good Vs Bad
 29:32 – Losing Hope, And What Got Her Through
 30:49 – Why A Clear “Why” Matters
 32:08 – Her Deeper Purpose Behind Helping Founders
 34:10 – Building Trust In Yourself
 37:02 – Why Intuition Never Lies
 41:02 – Breaking Down Her 5-Engine Operating System
 42:52 – Why Most Founders Start Backwards
 45:38 – Beating Out Major Players For Big Clients
 48:07 – What She'd Tell Her Younger Self
 50:42 – Finding Clarity In Silence
 54:09 – Final Thoughts On Intuition, Momentum, And Rebuilding

Guest Links:
Website: https://businessdonebetter.co/
LinkedIn: Rebecca Kallaus

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