Here’s The Deal

Starting a business after 50 can be one of the most rewarding things you ever do — but if you're thinking about bringing a partner into the picture, there are some things you better understand BEFORE you shake hands and start splitting everything 50/50This is Part 2 of our four-part series on starting a business after fifty, and we're taking the conversation somewhere a lot of people don't want to go: partnerships, money, ownership, responsibility, communication, and protecting what you've worked so hard to build.For this episode, I'm coming to you from Twisted Italian in Peoria, Arizona, where I sit down with owner Brian Bojanowski.Brian made his career change at 45. He went from being a Vice President of Finance at American Express to owning a restaurant — one of the toughest businesses you can get into.Eleven years later, he's still going strong, and Twisted Italian has been voted Best Italian Restaurant in Peoria for six years.His story is another example of what this series is all about:Bet on yourself. Work your ass off. Learn along the way. And don't be afraid to change direction.But then we get into the other side of entrepreneurship...Partnerships.I've spent 30 years in the banking industry, and I've seen partnerships go bad in just about every way imaginable.Best friends.Marriages.Brothers and sisters.Parents and children.People who swore they would never let money come between them.And then the money started talking.As Dave Ramsey says, "The only ship that doesn't float is a partnership."Whether you agree with that or not, there's a lesson behind it: don't build a business partnership on a handshake, a napkin, or a conversation over a couple of drinks.In this episode, we talk about:Why a 50/50 partnership isn't automatically fairThe importance of a well-structured operating agreementClearly defining each partner's responsibilitiesWhat happens when one partner puts up the money and the other brings the ideaWhy your intellectual property has valueWhy communication can make or break a partnershipWhy your spouse or family needs to understand what's happening in your businessThe importance of having an exit strategyKey-person insurance and protecting the business from unexpected changesWhat happens when a partner dies or leaves the businessWhy bringing in an investor may not always be the best answerThe difference between borrowing money and giving away ownershipWhy growing slower may actually be better than giving away controlPlaying to your strengths instead of trying to do everything yourselfAnd why you need to protect the business you've worked so hard to buildThe big takeaway?Before you go into business with somebody, have the hard conversations first.What are their responsibilities?What are yours?Who puts up the capital?How are profits divided?Who makes decisions?What happens if someone stops working?What happens if someone wants out?What happens if someone dies?What happens if the relationship falls apart?If you can't have those conversations before you start the business, you're probably not ready to be business partners.And here's your homework for this episode:If you already have a partner — or you're considering one — start drafting your operating agreement.Put the expectations on paper.Then sit down together and see what you both agree to.Because you didn't get this far in life without learning a few things.Protect yourself. Protect your business. Protect your future.And remember — the best time to start a business was years ago.The second best time is right now.Thanks to Brian Bojanowski and Twisted Italian for letting us shoot this episode at their restaurant.If you're in the Lake Pleasant / Peoria, Arizona area — or you're from Chicago and looking for a little taste of home — check them out.Subscribe for Part 3, where we keep digging into what it really takes to start, build, and grow a business after 50.

Is your job really safe? Four of my friends just found out it wasn't.

This is Part 1 of a four-part series on starting a business after fifty. I've done it. My last guest Bonnie has done it. My business coach Eric has done it — and it keeps coming up. If you've had a career redirection, or you've just been working for somebody for so long that you're ready to take the skills you've built and use them for yourself, this series is for you.

There's no fluff here, no platitudes, and we're not asking for permission. Just the things we've won through hard work. There's going to be some cost — but it's going to pay off.

In this episode, we cover:

• Why “renting” your income (i.e. having a job) isn’t as safe as it feels, no matter how long you’ve been there

• Building equity in yourself the same way you build equity in a home

• The myth of the “perfect plan” — and why a good plan violently executed beats a perfect plan next week

• The truth about what owning a business actually costs you at first (hint: it’s not golf on Fridays)

• Why corporate’s redundant systems waste money — and what changes the day you’re the owner

• Why the smartest investment you’ll ever make is in yourself

• A homework assignment: name the one myth that’s been holding you back

The best time to start a business was years ago. The second best time is right now.

Chapters

0:00  Why This Series Exists

0:51  Betting On Yourself & Building Equity

2:49  Own Your Time, Own Your Skills

4:55  The Truth About “Safe” Jobs

6:59  Renting vs. Owning Your Income

8:51  Building Equity In Yourself

9:43  The Myth of the “Perfect Plan”

12:09  Movement Generates Information

14:21  Not Everyone’s Built to Be an Entrepreneur

16:26  The Truth About Starting a Business (Long Hours Ahead)

18:54  You Don’t Have to Take Every Client

21:07  Brace for the Pain, Then Push Through

23:23  The 50+ Advantage

24:56  Building the Culture You Wish You Had

27:14  Redundant Systems. Wasted Money.

29:22  Homework: Name Your Myth

Subscribe for Part 2, where we talk about what can kill your bet faster than a bad market: a bad partner. New episodes from HTD Media Group — Get Seen. Heard. Remembered.

Two shows. One table. No scripts. This is the podcast swap: Bonnie Schutz — CEO of Tandem Resource Solutions and host of Delegate 2 Elevate Get Sh!t Done — and Chris Flowers interview each other in one unscripted conversation airing on both feeds.

Two Gen X founders with 57 combined years inside corporate America and commercial banking break down: why "going Cortez" (quit, burn the ships, cash the 401(k)) is the most expensive way to start a business; the three rules before launching a podcast; why owners really refuse to delegate (trust, ego, AND control); the HR complaint that ended Bonnie's 27-year corporate run and launched her company; and why "I'm not gonna buy your job — I wanna buy a business" should shape every decision from day one. Plus: how Tandem stacks its team with military spouses, single moms, and second-act women through the MSEP program.

Connect with Bonnie: tandemresourcesolutions.com | delegate2elevatepodcast.com | preferredservicepros.com

Watch the full video episode on YouTube — Here's The Deal (@heresthedeal827).

Get Seen, Heard and Remembered → [email protected] | heresthedeal.biz/marketing

#heresthedealbiz #mybizcoaches #videomarketing #easycomfortableconnected

Is your job really safe? In Episode 15 of Here's The Deal, Chris Flowers answers it straight: a steady paycheck isn't security — security is having options.

He uses three friends who were loyal, topped their field, and were still walked out in fifteen minutes to expose the myth of the "cushy 9-to-5,".

Then he lays out the Owned vs. Rented income framework from 30 years around money: when you work for them, you rent your income, your title, your schedule and your future from a landlord who can evict you any day.

The only asset you'll ever fully own is the one you built — your name, your story, your skills, your audience.

This one's part wake-up call, part battle cry, with faith and grit underneath it. You don't have to build it alone.

If you want to talk about owning your time, let's talk. [email protected] · heresthedeal.biz/marketing

New Episode Drop!
How Much Should Small Businesses Spend on Marketing? (The Real Answer)

How much should a small business actually spend on marketing? The SBA says 7–10% of revenue… but that benchmark is built on Fortune 500 data, not your business. In this episode, Chris Flowers breaks down the real answer using 30 years of commercial finance: it's not what you spend, it's WHERE you spend it — and your margins decide everything.

Inside this episode:

• Why the 7–10% rule can break a thin-margin business

• The #1 mistake owners make in a downturn (and why you should double down instead)

• Why marketing is an INVESTMENT, not an expense — treat your budget like inventory

• The LTV:CAC ratio explained in plain English (the banker's rule: 3:1 or better)

• Where to actually put your dollars: short-form video, long-form video, live video, email, and SEO

• Meta vs. Google Ads — the honest take, and why you might be renting attention instead of owning assets

• The 'microwave mentality' that kills marketing ROI

Here's The Deal | Peoria, AZ

Podcast Coaching & Production — You Bring The Story, We Refine The Vision

Video Content & Marketing — Easy. Comfortable. Connected.

Ready to be seen? [email protected] | heresthedeal.biz/marketing

Subscribe for weekly straight-talk on business, marketing, and storytelling.

CHAPTERS (adjust timestamps to final cut)

0:00 Intro

1:00 The SBA 7–10% rule — and why it's not the whole story

2:50 Why your margins dictate everything

3:30 The #1 mistake: cutting marketing in a downturn

5:56 The $1,000/year trap (66% of owners fall in)

6:30 Marketing as investment, not expense — treat it like inventory

7:00 LTV:CAC explained — the banker's ratio

12:00 Where to actually spend: video, email, SEO

17:00 The 'microwave mentality' trap (90–180 days)

18:00 Meta vs. Google Ads: the honest answer

24:00 Renting attention vs. owning assets

25:48 Bottom line: judge against YOUR margins

#heresthedealbiz #mybizcoaches #videomarketing #easycomfortableconnected #smallbusinessmarketing #marketingbudget #marketingROI #businessgrowth

If I wiped your business out tomorrow, who would you be Monday morning?

This episode pivoted on me the second that question came up — because it's one most founders can't answer without flinching. Here's the deal: the business isn't the problem. The identity problem is — and it costs you money, your relationships, and sometimes your health.

In this one, Chris Flowers digs into:

• Why "I am the business" turns every lost deal and bad month into a personal failure

• The **Ego Tax** — the dead products and "nobody can do it like me" delegation quietly draining your profit

• How to train and trust the right people (and where the bottom lines stay locked)

• **Conviction vs. Ego** — conviction listens to the data and adjusts; ego just tries to prove a point

• The military rule that runs through it all: *slow is smooth, smooth is fast*

• The **Sunday Night Test**: Can you take a week off with no email? Got two close friends outside your industry? Can you describe yourself in 60 seconds without mentioning your business?

• Why you build your identity NOW — as a spouse, parent, friend, person of faith — not after the business sells or folds

The deals come and go. That time with your family doesn't come back.

🌐 Full episode + show notes: heresthedeal.biz

🎙️ Podcast Coaching & Production — "You Bring The Story, We Refine The Vision." → [email protected] · heresthedeal.biz/marketing

🎬 Video Content & Marketing — "Easy. Comfortable. Connected." → [email protected] · heresthedeal.biz/marketing

Here's The Deal | Educate, Elevate, Inspire | Peoria, AZ | heresthedeal.biz

#heresthedealbiz #mybizcoaches #videomarketing #easycomfortableconnected

Episode 12 of Here's The Deal — Jorge & Jesus Ruiz from @thetacospot tell us how they built a birria empire from a barbershop kitchen.

→ Signed the buildout with no money

→ First customer waited 30 minutes

→ Mom made them hug to save the business

→ Goal: 1,000 stores

Real story. Real grit. Real tacos.

▶️ To see the full video, go to our YouTube channel: Here's The Deal Podcast.

📍 Based in Peoria, AZ

📞 623-308-9732

📧 [email protected]

🌐 heresthedeal.biz/marketing

📅 calendly.com/heresthedeal/chrisflowers

🎙️ Podcast Coaching & Production — You Bring The Story, We Refine The Vision.

🎬 Video Content Creation & Marketing — Easy. Comfortable. Connected.

#heresthedealbiz #mybizcoaches #videomarketing #easycomfortableconnected #TheTacoSpot #BirriaTacos #PhoenixEats #PeoriaAZ #FamilyBusiness #FranchiseGrowth #EntrepreneurStory #SmallBusinessAZ #PodcastEpisode

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Handshakes are making a comeback — and HTD is here for it.

Video calls aren't going anywhere. They built bridges that didn't exist before, and Chris does them every week with clients around the world. But there's a ceiling. You can't catch the side conversation, the energy in the room, or the "let's grab coffee after" through a Zoom screen.

In this episode of Here's The Deal, Chris breaks down:

→ Why video calls have a hard ceiling for trust and rapport→ The difference between productive networking and busy networking (a lesson from 30 years in commercial banking)→ Why one quality networking group beats five mediocre ones→ The "Unplugged" movement — and why young professionals are the ones leading the no-screens charge→ A simple 4-step framework for networking that actually moves the needle

He shares a story about being the oldest guy in the room at a young professionals' unplugged meetup — and what it told him about where business connection is heading.

If you're a business owner, content creator, or anyone who's been hiding behind email and DMs, this one's for you.

Wi-Fi connects devices. Eye contact connects people.

Work with HTD:Podcast Coaching — [email protected]/marketingVideo Marketing — heresthedeal.biz/marketingBook a call — calendly.com/heresthedeal/chrisflowersPhone — 623-308-9732

Educate. Elevate. Inspire.

Most entrepreneurs wait for opportunity…

But opportunity doesn’t knock.

IT SCREAMS.

In this episode of Here's The Deal, Chris Flowers breaks down:

✅ How market demand forced him to launch podcast coaching & production
✅ Why most entrepreneurs miss obvious revenue opportunities
✅ The real reason delegation, automation, and AI matter
✅ How to stay in your genius while scaling your business
✅ Why AI will never replace authentic storytelling
✅ The 3 questions every entrepreneur must ask before delegating

If you’ve been sitting on your podcast, business idea, or next revenue stream…

This episode may be the kick in the teeth you needed.

You bring the story. We refine the vision.

🎯 Book your strategy call:
[email protected]/marketing

#heresthedealbiz #mybizcoaches #videomarketing #easycomfortablecosteffective