Most owner-operators have a complicated relationship with their bank — part dependence, part frustration, and very little transparency. I’ve lived that reality myself, and I know how powerless it can feel when decisions are made “behind the curtain.” 

In this episode, I sat down with my longtime friend and commercial banker, Luke Maupin, to pull that curtain back. We walk through how banks actually make money, how credit decisions really get made, why some owners get easy access to capital while others get boxed in, and how much of this comes down to planning, storytelling, and preparation — not luck. 

This conversation is about flipping the power dynamic. When owners understand the banking business model, bring a clear financial narrative, and know which questions to ask, banks stop being adversaries and start becoming tools. The goal isn’t cheaper money — it’s optionality, confidence, and control over your future. 
 
Luke Maupin is a commercial banker with nearly two decades of experience across large national banks and community institutions. Known for advocating for owner-operators inside the banking system, Luke specializes in credit strategy, growth financing, and helping businesses align capital structures with long-term plans. He brings uncommon transparency to how banks operate and how owners can navigate lending relationships with confidence. 

Top 10 Takeaways 

 
Chapters:  
(00:00) Introduction, Luke Maupin - from touring musician to commercial banker 

(05:50) Banking transparency: asking banks the same questions they ask you 

(14:38) How banks operate: deposits, liquidity, and the business model 

(37:30) How banks make money: lending margins, fees, and treasury management 

(44:34) Business banking versus middle market: understanding customer segmentation 

(56:00) Cash flow mastery and why three statement projections matter 

(1:00:17) Credit approval process: understanding who makes the final decision 

(1:19:41) Covenants and distributions: negotiating terms that don't strangle growth 

(1:33:18) Personal guarantees: strategies for negotiating and eliminating recourse debt 

 
Resources: 
Lucas Maupin LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucas-maupin-0501b428/ 
Ryan Tansom Website https://ryantansom.com/

Most owners don’t wake up wanting to sell their business. They wake up tired, overloaded, and unsure how much longer they can keep doing everything themselves. In this conversation, John Bartlett and I start by unpacking that reality — the moment when success on paper doesn’t feel like freedom, and selling starts to feel like the only option. 

From there, we zoom out and talk about what’s really going on beneath the surface: phantom wealth, misunderstood cash flow, and why many owners don’t actually see the full set of options available to them. We talk about how value is created, what actually drives multiples, and why clarity around cash flow and owner dependency changes everything. 

Only after that foundation is set do we walk through the real process of selling a company — what actually happens when you go to market, how deals are structured, how long it takes, where owners get surprised, and why the headline price is often the least important part of the transaction. This episode is about helping you see the whole landscape clearly — so whether you build, transition, or sell, you’re making an intentional decision instead of reacting out of exhaustion. 
 
John Bartlett is the founder of Brentwood Growth, where he helps owner-operators navigate valuation, growth, and M&A decisions with clarity and realism. A former serial entrepreneur, John grew and sold multiple businesses before becoming an advisor to lower middle-market owners. His work focuses on turning companies into durable assets—whether that means scaling, de-risking, or exiting on aligned terms. 

Top 10 Takeaways  

Chapters:  

(00:00) Making a meaningful difference in business owners' lives and transitions 

(06:08) Three categories of sellers: burned out, transitioning, and scaling 

(10:40) Life as jigsaw puzzle: balancing financial and lifestyle goals 

(25:45) What owners really want is work-life balance and control 

(36:10) Valuation process: determining current worth and future potential value 

(46:10) Valuation fundamentals: adjusted EBITDA and multiple determine enterprise value 

(01:01:40) Complete M&A process timeline from teaser to final offers 

(01:10:10) Marathon hydration analogy: plan your exit before you're exhausted 

(01:14:00) Quality of earnings: the detailed due diligence cavity search 

(01:26:20) Critical difference between gross sale proceeds and after-tax reality 

(01:28:33) Lock business down within twelve months of planned sale 

 
Resources: 
John Bartlett LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnlbartlett/ 
Brentwood Growth: https://www.brentwood-growth.com/ 
Ryan Tansom Website https://ryantansom.com/ 
 

Most owners make decisions in the dark. Sales over here, payroll over there, cash flow somewhere in the background — and no clear way to see how it all fits together.

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In this episode, I break down the 5-year, three-statement model I use with clients to finally show how revenue, margins, OpEx, working capital, cash flow, and valuation all connect. It's the system that turns guessing into clarity, scattered decisions into strategy, and helps you design a business that aligns with your goals for time, cash flow, and long-term wealth.

When owners finally see the whole picture — how their decisions drive EBITDA, how working capital eats cash, how valuation is created, and how comp and accountability align to their goals — they gain the ability to run the company from the boardroom instead of the weeds.

I know what it's like to feel trapped in the grind of running a business. In 2009, I joined my family's $21 million company during a financial crisis, and over five years, we turned it around and sold it for eight figures. While that sale looked like a win on paper, it left me questioning everything. The stress of running the business, the massive tax hit, and the lack of clarity about how our decisions aligned with our goals taught me a powerful lesson: most business owners don't have a framework to make decisions that lead to true freedom.

That's why I created the Independence by Design™ Ownership Framework. It's a system to help owner-operators align their business decisions with their goals for time, cash flow, and wealth. Over the last decade, I've been a part of dozens of transactions and worked with thousands of business owners, helping them design businesses that work for their lives—not the other way around.

On the podcast, I share strategies and insights I've learned along the way, bringing in top thought leaders like Gino Wickman, Mike Michalowicz, Jack Stack, and Bo Burlingham to provide their perspectives. Whether you're feeling stuck, planning to scale, or preparing for an exit, my goal is to give you the tools and confidence to take back control and build a life you love.

This isn't just another business podcast. It's about reclaiming your independence and designing a business that gives you the freedom you deserve.

Top 10 Takeaways

Chapters:
(00:00) Why ownership goals must drive your business model: time, cash and wealth

(04:22) The valuation gap tab: understanding enterprise value and equity value

(09:30) Projections: building your five-year revenue and growth assumptions

(13:00) Revenue forecasting: line of business growth rates and economic cycles

(20:02) How the three financial statements interact and tell the complete story

(24:40) Cash flow statement: the critical bridge between CEO and owner decisions

(33:00) Assigning clear accountability: Bob owns revenue, Sally owns margins, Ted owns EBITDA

(45:00) Monthly meetings with on-track and off-track reporting for every line

(56:30) Making real decisions with the model: hiring, distributions and strategic scenarios

Resources:
Ryan Tansom Website https://ryantansom.com/

You hear the hype about AI every day, but when you try to use it, it feels like a toy rather than a tool that can actually help you reclaim your time.

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In this episode, I’m cutting through that noise with Tyler LaFleur, a former nurse and functional medicine practitioner turned Fractional COO. I brought Tyler on because he doesn’t look at business through the lens of "growth at all costs." He uses first principles thinking—the same diagnostic approach used in medicine—to find the root cause of what is keeping you stuck in the day-to-day.

We have a candid, practical conversation about why most business owners fail with AI because of "lazy prompting," and why Artificial Intelligence is useless without "Objective Truth." If you don’t have your financial constraints and ownership goals clearly defined first, applying AI is just pouring rocket fuel into a car with no steering wheel—you’ll just hit the wall faster.

Top 10 Takeaways

Tyler LaFleur is a Fractional COO and AI integration specialist who helps visionaries escape the weeds. A former nurse and functional medicine practitioner, Tyler bridges the gap between biological systems and business operations, using "first principles" to diagnose and cure operational bottlenecks. He specializes in practical AI application—moving beyond the hype to build custom agents, automate workflows, and clean financial data using tools like Claude and ChatGPT. 

Chapters: 

Resources:

Reach Tyler at [email protected]

Website: https://www.hphi.life/

Ryan Tansom Website https://ryantansom.com/

In this episode, I sit down with Greg Meredith, founder of Simply Strategic, to distinguish the crucial difference between having a strategic plan and actually possessing a strategy. We dive deep into Greg’s "9 Keystones" Simply Strategic framework, exploring how companies can identify their unique "Winning Position" on the battlefield of business. Greg explains why true strategy requires painful trade-offs, the importance of the "Opposite Rule" in decision-making, and how to successfully integrate high-level strategy into a daily business operating system for long-term execution.

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Greg Meredith is the founder of Simply Strategic, a consultancy dedicated to helping small and mid-sized businesses ($2M - $500M revenue) build and execute actionable strategic plans. With a background in private equity and over 75 strategic engagements, Greg guides leadership teams through his "9 Keystones" framework. He focuses on helping owners define their "winning position," leverage unique company assets, and transition from planning to persisting, ensuring strategy integrates seamlessly with daily operations.

Marketing is confusing for most owners — not because the tactics don’t work, but because the data underneath is broken.  

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In this episode, I sit down with Alison Bechdol, founder of Digital-ade, to break down why so many owners feel like they’re throwing money at marketing with nothing to show for it. And the truth is simple: you cannot build a predictable revenue engine without clean data, real attribution, and a clear picture of your customer acquisition cost. Most companies don’t have a marketing problem — they have a data infrastructure problem. Tracking is wrong, systems aren’t unified, and owners don’t have the visibility they need to design revenue, forecast cash flow, or make decisions from the boardroom. 
 
We also talk through the deeper issue: the marketing industry’s incentives are misaligned. Owners need doers, not gurus — and they need a clear order of operations to diagnose, fix, and scale what actually drives margin and enterprise value. 
 
10 Takeaways: 

Chapters:  

Resources: 
Company Website http://digital-ade.com/ 
Ryan Tansom Website https://ryantansom.com/  

Leadership gets thrown around so much that it’s lost meaning. We use it to describe control, management, or charisma—but the more I’ve lived through it, the more I believe real leadership is about thinking. It’s about clarity, purpose, and helping other people become who they’re capable of being. This conversation with Jeff West redefined a lot for me. 

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We talked about the dragons that hold leaders back—fear, ego, comparison, and comfort—and how to slay them so we can think clearly, care deeply, and lead with alignment. Jeff’s perspective hit home because it connects the inner work to the outer results. Leadership isn’t about doing more—it’s about creating the space and systems that let others think and grow. Caring means refusing to let people default on themselves. Competence means designing clarity so accountability is possible.  
 
If you’re an owner who feels trapped running the machine instead of leading it, this episode is for you.  It’s a masterclass in leading from within—thinking better, caring deeper, and designing a company that reflects your highest potential and brings out the best in everyone around you. 

10 Key Takeaways (My Biggest Lessons) 

Who This Is For 
For any business owner who feels like the game keeps changing, this episode will help you understand why. If you’ve ever wondered why your hard work isn’t compounding the way it should, or what Bitcoin actually means beyond speculation, this conversation connects the dots between money, time, and ownership. 
 
Jeff West has over 40 years of business experience. During his career, Jeff has been part of four high-tech start-up companies. He was a founder and CEO/President of Silicon Logic Engineering from 1996 to 2008. Over the past seventeen years, Jeff has worked with dozens of companies in the upper Midwest. His experience working with business owners and executive teams includes over 2,500 coaching sessions. Jeff is also the facilitator of the Applied Leadership Program. The program has seen dozens of area executives and potential new leaders go through its two-year program. In 2025, Jeff wrote his first book. 'Becoming Your Own Dragon Slayer' is a leadership book for kids and teens. It's been a #1 New Release on Amazon in three different categories. 

Chapters:  

Resources: 
Website https://www.beardowninc.com/ 
Ryan Tansom Website https://ryantansom.com/  

Coming off my conversation with Lawrence Lepard, where we unpacked the broken foundation of fiat money, I wanted to push the question further: If the rules of the game are shifting, how do we navigate from here?  

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In this episode, I sit down with Alan Beaulieu of ITR Economics and Kim Clark to keep searching for what’s real — to make sense of where we actually are in the cycle and what business owners can do to design intelligently within it. The math behind the current system doesn’t work forever. Debt, demographics, and policy are pushing us toward an eventual reset. But rather than getting lost in the noise, Alan grounds us in data and context. This isn’t about doom — it’s about orientation. We dig into what’s true, what’s hype, and what owners can actually do: build moats around cash flow, people, and productivity, lead with clarity through uncertainty, and use this next downturn to do good—for employees, customers, and community. Because you can’t control the macro, but you can design within it. 

What We Covered 

Who This Is For 
For any business owner who feels like the game keeps changing, this episode will help you understand why. If you’ve ever wondered why your hard work isn’t compounding the way it should, or what Bitcoin actually means beyond speculation, this conversation connects the dots between money, time, and ownership. 

Kim Clark is a sales and marketing strategist who helped scale ITR Economics from a founder-led advisory firm to a professionally managed company that exited at eight figures. As head of sales and marketing, she built the firm’s first CRM, content strategy, and inbound engine—moving the company from personality-based selling to a system built on data, automation, and strategic execution. Today, she works with business owners to build marketing engines that align with their strategy, team, and long-term cash flow goals—so they can grow without chaos and delegate without losing visibility. Her frameworks are directly aligned with the "Maximize Growth" track inside the Build a Valuable Business module of the iBD™ Magic Model.   
 
Alan Beaulieu is a globally recognized economist and partner at ITR Economics, a firm with 94.7% forecasting accuracy over 80 years. For more than three decades, Alan has guided executives worldwide through all economic cycles, providing clear, actionable insights on markets, strategy, and investment. A respected speaker, author, and advisor, his data-driven approach helps companies anticipate change, protect value, and maximize profitability. 

Chapters:  

Resources: 
Kim Clark LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberly-clark-79634845/ 
Alan Beaulieu LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/alan-beaulieu-8343283 
Ryan Tansom Website https://ryantansom.com/

Most business owners I know can feel it... the harder you work, the less it seems to matter. You’re producing real value, taking real risk, and yet the system keeps changing the rules.The system isn’t broken… It’s working exactly as designed. But it’s designed to steal your time. 
 
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In this episode, I sit down with Lawrence Lepard, author of The Big Print and sound money advocate, to unpack the truth about how fiat currency erodes value, distorts incentives, and traps business owners inside a system they were never meant to win. We break down how inflation isn’t just an economic concept — it’s a moral failure. The rules of the game have been rewritten to reward those who can borrow and print, while punishing those who produce and save. But there’s a way out. We talk about sound money — and why Bitcoin represents more than a new asset class. It’s the modern evolution of fairness, freedom, and real capitalism. This conversation connects history, economics, and ownership into one simple idea: if you understand how money works, you can finally design a life and business that align with reality, not illusion. 

What We Covered 

Who This Is For 
For any business owner who feels like the game keeps changing, this episode will help you understand why. If you’ve ever wondered why your hard work isn’t compounding the way it should, or what Bitcoin actually means beyond speculation, this conversation connects the dots between money, time, and ownership. 

Lawrence Lepard is a professional investment manager who has been a long time advocate for a return to sound money. He manages funds which focus on companies involved with gold and silver mining and Bitcoin. He is an active contributor to the "sound money" discussion on X, using the handle: @LawrenceLepard, and he recently published his first book: THE BIG PRINT: What Happened to America and How Sound Money Will Fix It. 

The book is a discussion of how America's monetary system has gone astray and caused enormous pain for millions through inflation. The history of this process is laid out in the first part of the book: The Problem. The second half of the book is titled The Solution and explains what we must do to restore the American Dream. It offers investment insights that are relevant to all individuals and families and shows people how to protect themselves from inflation. The book is timely because as Mr. Lepard shows the problem is getting worse and is likely to result in a crisis very soon. 

Chapters:  

Resources: 
Lawrence Lepard Twitter/X: @LawrenceLepard 
Ryan Tansom Website https://ryantansom.com/

Most owners talk about “creating value,” but few stop to ask a more fundamental question: 
Value for what? 

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In this episode, I sat down with my friend Nick Bradley—entrepreneur, investor, and host of The Scale Up Podcast—to explore how your ownership goals determine everything about your value-creation strategy. Nick comes from the private equity world, where the goal is clear: build to sell. I work with mid-market owners designing companies that can outlast them. 
We both work with the same kinds of businesses—but from opposite ends of the ownership spectrum. Together, we dig into how clarity of intent changes the entire game: the capital structure you choose, how you lead your team, and how you allocate your time and cash flow. 
 
This isn’t about chasing one “right” path. It’s about picking your game—and understanding what freedom, wealth, and legacy look like depending on whether you’re designing for a third-party exit or an internal transition. 

What We Covered 

Who This Is For 
For any owner trying to decide what’s next—whether to sell, transition internally, or redesign their role—this episode will help you see the tradeoffs clearly. If you want to understand how your value-creation plan must align with your personal and ownership goals, this conversation will give you the clarity to design your next move intentionally. 

Nick Bradley is an entrepreneur, investor, and former PE-backed CEO/Operating Partner who has scaled 100+ businesses and driven $5B+ in exits. Host of the top-ranked Scale Up with Nick Bradley podcast and author of the #1 bestseller Exit for Millions, he works with founders generating $1M+ EBITDA to diagnose true enterprise value and 2–10x it through operational excellence, acquisitions, and systems—so owners create freedom, optionality, and elite businesses. 

Chapters:  

Resources: 
Website - https://highvalueexit.com/ 
Book - https://highvalueexit.com/podcast/ 
Ryan Tansom Website https://ryantansom.com/