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What does it take to lead a second generation rent to own business while preparing for the future of digital retail, customer experience, and modern operations?
In this episode of The RTO Show, host Peter Shau sits down with Ben Leach, COO of Ace Rent to Own, to talk about leadership, family legacy, Black Friday strategy, customer relationships, and the future of the rent to own industry.
Ben shares how growing up in the business shaped his leadership philosophy, why employee culture drives long term customer loyalty, and how Ace Rent to Own is adapting to online sales trends, digital agreements, and changing consumer behavior. From Black Friday promotions and operational strategy to customer care and community support, this episode offers practical insight for rent to own operators, store managers, and anyone interested in the future of the RTO industry.
What You’ll Learn:
Episode Highlights:
Meet the Guest:
Ben Leach is the COO of Ace Rent to Own in Nebraska and represents the next generation of leadership in the rent to own industry. After spending more than a decade working in the software and technology space, Ben returned to the family business to help modernize operations, improve customer experience, and continue the relationship driven culture built by his father, industry veteran Len Leach.
Tools, Frameworks, or Strategies Mentioned:
Closing Insight:
The future of rent to own will belong to companies that combine technology, operational excellence, and genuine customer relationships. Ben Leach shares a clear vision for how modern RTO businesses can grow while still keeping people at the center of the experience.
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How does a small video rental store evolve into one of the most respected rent to own companies in the industry?
In this special RTO Legend Series episode, Peter Shau sits down with Dan Fisher, President of APRO and leader of Magic Rent to Own, to explore the real history of the rent to own business, leadership development, customer advocacy, and the cultural evolution of the RTO industry.
Dan shares the origin story behind Magic Rent to Own, how family values shaped the company’s growth, and why leadership training, employee culture, and customer relationships became the foundation for long term success. This conversation also dives into rent to own advocacy, flexible payment solutions, industry misconceptions, and how operators can build businesses that truly serve their communities.
What You’ll Learn:
Episode Highlights:
Meet the Guest:
Dan Fisher is the President of the APRO Board and the leader behind Magic Rent to Own, a Pennsylvania based rent to own company recognized multiple years in a row as one of the best places to work in the state. He is known throughout the RTO industry for his focus on leadership development, employee culture, advocacy, and customer centered business practices.
Tools, Frameworks, or Strategies Mentioned:
Closing Insight:
The future of rent to own depends on companies that continue to serve customers with flexibility, dignity, and real human connection. Dan Fisher’s story is a reminder that the strongest businesses are built through leadership, advocacy, and a commitment to helping people create better lives.
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What does it take to help shape the modern rent to own industry for more than four decades?
In this special RTO Legend Series episode, Peter Shau sits down with Shannon and Cynthia Baber-Strunk to discuss the evolution of rent to own, customer advocacy, leadership, legislative action, and the real stories behind APRO’s early fight to protect the industry.
From building Baber’s into a successful multi store operation to helping establish rent to own legislation in Mississippi, Shannon and Cynthia share firsthand insights into how the RTO industry survived government scrutiny, earned customer trust, and created opportunities for underserved communities. This conversation explores rent to own compliance, consumer flexibility, business growth strategies, and why advocacy still matters today.
What You’ll Learn:
Episode Highlights:
Meet the Guests:
Shannon and Cynthia Baber-Strunk are longtime leaders in the rent to own industry, former APRO Presidents, and recipients of the APRO Lifetime Achievement Award. Together, they helped grow Baber’s into a successful multi location operation, played a major role in rent to own legislative advocacy, and continue to influence the industry through leadership, mentorship, and business development.
Tools, Frameworks, or Strategies Mentioned:
Closing Insight:
The rent to own industry was built by operators who believed in serving customers, protecting access, and fighting for the future of their businesses. Shannon and Cynthia Baber-Strunk remind us that advocacy, leadership, and customer trust are still the foundation of long term success in RTO.
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What does it take to build a debt free rent to own company that lasts for nearly four decades?
In this powerful RTO Legend Series episode, Kathy Windsor shares the real story behind National TV Sales & Rentals, the evolution of the rent to own industry, and the leadership principles that helped her family business survive economic shifts, warehouse fires, IRS battles, and changing consumer behavior.
Hosted by Peter Shau, this conversation explores rent to own operations, inventory management, customer relationships, vendor partnerships, and why community impact matters just as much as profit. Kathy also opens up about advocacy with APRO and TRIB, navigating a male dominated industry, and how the next generation of RTO leadership must adapt to changing employees, rising costs, and shifting customer needs.
What You’ll Learn:
Episode Highlights:
Meet the Guest:
Kathy Windsor is the CEO and owner of National TV Sales & Rentals, a longtime Missouri based rent to own company with deep roots in APRO and TRIB leadership. Over nearly 40 years in the industry, Kathy helped grow a family owned operation known for operational discipline, customer loyalty, charitable giving, and strong vendor relationships.
Tools, Frameworks, or Strategies Mentioned:
Closing Insight:
Strong rent to own businesses are built on relationships, discipline, and consistency over time. Kathy Windsor’s story is a reminder that long term success comes from serving customers well, supporting employees, protecting the industry, and staying grounded through every stage of growth.
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What does it take to grow a single rent to own store into a 24 location operation while helping shape the future of the entire industry?
In this powerful RTO Legends episode, Lyn Leach of Ace Rent to Own shares the story behind one of the most respected names in rent to own, from borrowing startup capital in 1982 to becoming an APRO president, industry advocate, and mentor to the next generation of operators.
Hosted by Peter Shau at RTO World 2025, this conversation explores the evolution of rental purchase, customer first collections, industry advocacy, vendor relationships, online rent to own challenges, and why relationship driven leadership still matters in modern retail. Lyn also explains how APRO helped shape rent to own legislation and why the future of the industry depends on transparency, innovation, and community trust.
What You’ll Learn:
Episode Highlights:
Meet the Guest:
Lyn Leach is the founder of Ace Rent to Own and a longtime leader in the rent to own industry. Over more than four decades, he helped grow Ace into a multi location operation while serving as an APRO president, legislative advocate, mentor, and champion for customer focused rental purchase practices.
Tools, Frameworks, or Strategies Mentioned:
Closing Insight:
Lyn Leach’s story is a reminder that rent to own has always been about more than products. It is about helping families improve their quality of life, creating opportunity through access, and building businesses rooted in trust, consistency, and service.
APROSupport the show
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Ready to turn views into visits? We sat down with Jeraud Norman of Jeraud Marketing to get brutally practical about what actually drives people into a rent‑to‑own store: short videos with real humans, clear invitations to try products in person, and simple tracking that proves ROI without fancy software. If you’ve been posting product photos and praying for reach, this conversation shows how to swap static for story and clicks for customers.
We start with the basics most teams skip: fix your audio with a cheap mic, add captions for silent scrollers, and use tight 20–30 second scripts so every second serves a purpose. Jeraud breaks down why personality beats polish, how jump cuts and angle changes keep attention, and why celebrating on‑time payers, deliveries, birthdays, and staff quirks builds trust faster than any discount. The goal isn’t viral; it’s familiar. When viewers walk in asking for the person from the video, closing gets easy.
We also tackle the “pay to play” reality on Facebook and how even $1 a day to your followers can keep your content visible. Jeraud shares real‑world spend patterns around $300 per store and explains why many sales won’t show up as leads but appear as walk‑ins—if you’re asking every visitor how they found you. Tie a simple check‑box sheet to agreement numbers and review gross sales later to see true returns. To speed creative, we outline AI prompts that generate fresh scripts, hooks, and even fun perspectives like a $10 bill or delivery truck telling the story.
If you sell what people sit on, touch, and test, your edge is your front door. Put faces on camera, invite folks to try the sofa, and make it easy for them to meet you by name. Want a jumpstart? Gerard offers a free 30‑second script: email [email protected], or book at fastRTOdeliveries.com. If this helped, subscribe, share it with your team, and leave a quick review so more local dealers can turn social views into steady foot traffic.
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What does the “Big Beautiful Bill” actually mean for rent to own businesses, tax planning, cash flow management, and long term profitability?
In this deep dive episode of The RTO Show, Peter Shau sits down with Mike Helton and Alicia Holloway of RGCO CPA to break down the 2025 tax changes that every rent to own operator needs to understand before heading into Q4 and the 2026 tax season.
This episode explores bonus depreciation, EBITDA, business valuations, cash intensive retail operations, succession planning, and the financial realities behind running a successful rent to own company. Mike and Alicia also explain how modern RTO operators can prepare for industry shifts, improve financial visibility, and build long term business value in a changing economy.
What You’ll Learn:
Episode Highlights:
Meet the Guests:
Mike Helton is a shareholder at RGCO CPA and one of the most respected accounting professionals in the rent to own industry. With more than 26 years at the firm, Mike specializes in RTO accounting, tax strategy, business valuations, succession planning, and financial advisory services.
Alicia Holloway is a Senior Tax Manager at RGCO CPA who works closely with rent to own operators on financial management, tax planning, and operational accounting strategies. She also plays an active role in the firm’s growing RTO advisory division.
Tools, Frameworks, or Strategies Mentioned:
Closing Insight:
The numbers behind a rent to own business tell a much bigger story than profit alone. This episode shows why successful operators pay attention to cash flow, inventory movement, customer relationships, and long term planning just as much as sales.
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Can a quiet, introverted salesperson become a top performer in rent to own?
In this episode of The RTO Show, Peter Shau sits down with Angelica Felix-Damas to explore how empathy, creativity, product knowledge, and mentorship are reshaping the future of the rent to own industry.
Angelica shares her journey from being the “silent girl” at work to becoming a confident sales professional at Hometown Sales Lease. Together, they discuss leadership development, social media marketing for RTO businesses, AI tools, customer relationships, Hispanic community outreach, and how younger employees are bringing fresh energy into the industry. This conversation offers practical insights for rent to own operators, sales managers, and business owners looking to attract and train the next generation of talent.
What You’ll Learn:
Episode Highlights:
Meet the Guest:
Angelica Felix-Damas is a sales professional at Hometown Sales Lease in Arkansas City, Kansas. Known for her thoughtful customer approach and passion for mentorship, Angelica brings a fresh perspective on leadership, training, social media, and the future of the rent to own industry.
Tools, Frameworks, or Strategies Mentioned:
Closing Insight:
The future of rent to own may not belong only to the loudest voices in the room. Sometimes the people who listen closely, care deeply, and stay curious become the leaders who move the industry forward.
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What separates a great employee from a great leader in the rent to own industry?
In this episode of The RTO Show, Peter Shau sits down with Will Jackson from R&R Tire Express to explore leadership development, feedback culture, employee growth, and the mindset shift required to move from top performer to effective leader.
From leadership training frameworks to team culture and emotional intelligence, this conversation dives deep into how RTO businesses can reduce turnover, improve customer relationships, and build stronger teams through intentional leadership. Will shares personal lessons about ego, mentorship, communication, and creating future leaders inside the rent to own industry.
What You’ll Learn:
Episode Highlights:
Meet the Guest:
Will Jackson is the Team Development Director at R&R Tire Express, where he leads leadership development, training, and employee growth initiatives across the organization. Known for his engaging communication style and people first leadership philosophy, Will focuses on helping future leaders develop the skills needed to succeed inside and outside the workplace.
Tools, Frameworks, or Strategies Mentioned:
Closing Insight:
Strong leadership is not built through titles alone. It grows through feedback, humility, self awareness, and the willingness to help other people succeed.
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What if growing your business had less to do with working harder and more to do with thinking differently?
In this episode of The RTO Show, Peter Shau sits down with entrepreneur and author John Preston to unpack the ideas behind Grow Your Business in 40 Flushes, a business strategy book designed to help overwhelmed business owners improve profit, marketing, leadership, and decision making in just a few minutes a day.
From customer acquisition and branding to AI in small business and mindset for entrepreneurs, this conversation explores practical ways rent to own operators and business owners can build smarter systems, improve profitability, and avoid the common traps that keep businesses stuck. John also shares why most entrepreneurs focus too much on volume instead of profit and how simple business habits can completely change long term growth.
What You’ll Learn:
Episode Highlights:
Meet the Guest:
John Preston is an entrepreneur, business strategist, and author of Grow Your Business in 40 Flushes. Through his coaching platforms, sales training programs, and business education content, John helps entrepreneurs improve profitability, leadership, marketing, and operational decision making in practical and approachable ways.
Tools, Frameworks, or Strategies Mentioned:
Closing Insight:
The businesses that grow the fastest are not always the ones working the hardest. They are the ones learning, adapting, and making intentional decisions every day.
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From the publisher's feed
The RTO Show Podcast is the podcast for the rent-to-own industry, hosted by Pete Shau, an industry insider with more than 20 years of experience in RTO operations, sales, leadership, marketing,…
Each episode brings candid conversations, practical insights, and real stories from the people shaping the RTO community, including operators, vendors, association leaders, store teams, industry veterans, and innovators helping move rent-to-own forward.
Pete’s conversations are built for seasoned veterans, newcomers, owners, managers, vendors, and anyone who wants to learn from the shared experiences, hard-earned lessons, and fresh perspectives inside the rent-to-own industry.
From lead generation, lead management, customer behavior, store traffic, door swings, sales process, collections, training, recruitment, and leadership development to technology, CRM integration, mobile-first shopping, Google ranking, Facebook ads, video marketing, advocacy, APRO, TRIB Group, RTO World, LegCon, and the future of the rent-to-own business model, The RTO Show helps listeners understand what is really happening in RTO.
If you work in RTO, serve the RTO industry, or want to better understand the people, challenges, trends, and opportunities behind rent-to-own, The RTO Show Podcast is your insider’s guide to the industry’s pulse.
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