Episode 14 | Garth Fasano & Christi Loucks When you buy a small business, you don't just inherit customers and revenue. You inherit habits, unwritten rules, and some truly bizarre surprises. In this episode of Bought the Biz, Garth and Christi reflect on the strange, funny, and occasionally uncomfortable things they discovered after stepping into ownership. From nonexistent holiday policies and global teams disappearing for surprise days off, to informal "rules" about remote work, sick days, and even gaming on the job. They talk candidly about the tension between wanting to run a human, trust based company and the reality that bad behavior forces structure, policies, and guardrails. The conversation also dives into why new owners often feel compelled to go deep into the weeds, how that builds confidence, and when it becomes a liability as you scale. This episode is a must listen for searchers and new operators who assume small businesses are just "corporate, but smaller." The reality is messier, more human, and far more educational than you expect.

Episode 13 | Garth Fasano & Christi Loucks with guest, Marci LaRouech In this episode of Bought the Biz, Garth and Christi sit down with Marci LaRouech, the new owner and CEO of Seay HR, a sixty-year-old HR consulting firm. Marci opens up about the emotional shift that hits the morning after closing a deal—the moment when the weight of ownership settles back onto your shoulders. For Marci, that weight isn't a burden; it's what gives this work meaning. She shares why acquiring Seay HR has been the best decision of her life, even though she thinks about the business constantly. Marci explains how she led her team and long-tenured clients through the transition by always starting with why—why the business was evolving, why certain changes mattered, and why she believed so deeply in the next chapter. From waiting intentionally before making adjustments, to modernizing systems, to navigating long-overdue price increases with empathy and clarity, Marci shows what it looks like to carry the responsibility of ownership with purpose. If you're a searcher or new operator learning to balance legacy, leadership, and the pressure of getting it right, this conversation will help you see why the weight is worth it.

Episode 12 | Garth Fasano & Christi Loucks In this episode of Bought the Biz, Garth and Christi get uncomfortably honest about pricing. How do you know when it is time to raise prices, change your model, or simplify your packages. How do you do it in a small business where every client and every dollar feels personal. They compare complex outcome based and consumption models with simple retainers, talk through real changes they have made in their own companies, and share the messy parts of bringing legacy clients up to current rates. They also dig into how to frame new services, build confidence in the value you deliver, set clear guardrails for your team, and communicate price increases without feeling like a villain. If you are an ETA owner or small business operator who knows your pricing needs to change but keeps putting it off, this one is for you.

Episode 11 | Garth Fasano & Christi Loucks

In this episode of Bought the Biz, Garth and Christi break down what they wish they had known before signing their acquisition documents. From surprise lender pullouts and nineteen percent debt to due-diligence must haves and emotional landmines, they share the real pre close challenges that don't make it into the search fund playbooks. They walk through financing pitfalls, why your lender becomes an actual partner, how to build (and stick to) your no go list, and why you should never negotiate against yourself in the final weeks. If you're headed toward your first close, this is the episode to hear before you sign.

Episode 10 | Garth Fasano & Christi Loucks

New owners walk into a maze of legacy tools, habits, and hidden dependencies. Garth and Christi unpack how to triage urgent vs important, when to keep a "weird" CRM config, why email deliverability and payments can sink you, and how to pace org and process changes without breaking morale. Practical tactics include deep-slice audits, choosing platforms vs. custom builds, EOS and OKRs, and lessons from hiring workflows that looked smart but hurt outcomes.

Episode 9 | Garth Fasano & Christi Loucks with guests Joe Comer & Kurt Oleson What happens when one leader steps in from the outside and another grows from within—then they become co-owners? In this episode, the CEO and COO of Custom Channels share how they navigated that transition, set priorities, and made meaningful change without losing momentum. It's a story about collaboration, clarity, and what good leadership really looks like.

Episode 8 | Garth Fasano & Christi Loucks

Garth and Christi get candid about blending parenthood with small business ownership. Christi shares the timing whiplash of buying a company, doing IVF, and having Wyatt one year to the day after close, plus what it means to add baby number two while her husband is running his own mountain operations business. Garth opens up about long hours, raising a seed round as Kit arrived, and why work-life balance turns into work-life integration. Together they cover the real tradeoffs, the spouse agreements that actually work, and the simple systems that keep both family and company moving.

You will learn:

1. How to align with your partner on expectations, schedules, and sleep so both the baby and the business get what they need.

2. Why integration beats balance for first-time operators and how to set rules you can live with.

3. Practical tactics for the first year, including night shift rotations, communication rituals, and letting go of perfection when reality hits.

Listen now!

Episode 7 | Garth Fasano & Christi Loucks with guest, Jason Trinka Garth and Christi sit down with Jason Trinka, the longtime operator and GM of Top Dog, before and after the acquisition. They unpack the messy middle of a surprise transition where Jason learned about the sale after close and chose to lean in rather than walk away. The conversation traces how trust was built through autonomy, authenticity, and shared vision work, from hiking with a 3-5-10 year planning worksheet to small family-first gestures that mattered more than emails and meetings. They revisit early org changes, the move from hidden SOPs to transparent systems, and the deliberate shift that pulled Jason out of the front lines so new leaders could grow. They get candid about comp complexity when profit sharing meets SBA debt, why culture change takes years, and the moments that almost broke things, including tough client calls and access changes that ultimately unlocked growth. The big lesson for ETA operators: meet key employees pre-close, go slower than you think, keep people whole when models change, and invest in real relationships so you do not lose your number two when it counts most. Listen now!

Episode 6 | Garth Fasano & Christi Loucks Everyone dreams of being the CEO — setting strategy, driving vision, and leading from the top. But for small business owners and ETA operators, the reality looks very different. In this episode, Garth and Christi pull back the curtain on what it really means to run a business day-to-day: rebuilding CRMs, managing payroll surprises, rewriting comp plans, and getting pulled deep into the weeds while still trying to think strategically. They share their unfiltered experiences on: • Why the first 90 days are almost all execution, not strategy • The unexpected grind of payroll, comp plans, and people management • How pricing and packaging can make or break your business • Why "operator" and "CEO" are two very different hats and you'll wear both Whether you're a searcher, operator, or just curious about life after acquisition, this episode is your honest playbook for surviving (and thriving) as a small business CEO.

Episode 5 | Garth Fasano with guest Quintin Graves What happens when your dream acquisition suddenly bleeds $50K a month? In this episode of Bought the Biz, Garth talks with Quintin Graves, owner of Scout Security in Denver, about the rollercoaster ride of buying and running a business. From hustling his way into an off-market deal to hiring (and losing) a GM, facing down terrifying negative cash flow, and clawing back to double the customer base, Quintin shares the unfiltered reality of ETA ownership. This is the story of resilience, hard lessons, and why sticking it out through the darkest moments can lead to the biggest wins. Listen now!