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PODCAST

Independence by Design™

Independence by Design™ is a framework to help owner-operators get out of the weeds and lead from the boardroom. I built it because I lived this trap. In 2009, I joined my dad in our $21M family business. We turned it around and sold it for eight figures in 2014 — enough to pay off debt, cover taxes, let my dad retire, and leave me with a chunk of cash at 27. But the sale gutted our team, systems, and identity. It looked like a win, but it didn’t feel like freedom. I bawled in the driveway. After

business entrepreneurship

All Episodes

01:10:01

#475: Matt Paulson | $50M & 20 Employees; Designing...

Independence by Design™ ·

2026/01/08

Matt is the founder of MarketBeat, a financial media company he’s built quietly over 19 years into a ~$50M/year business with around 20 employees — and what makes this episode special isn’t just the scale, it’s how he’s designed the business and his life around it. We talked about focus, attention, hiring, valuation discipline, resisting hype cycles, and why keeping the business can often be the most profitable move an owner can make. We also unpacked

en

01:47:21

#474: Luke Maupin | How to Flip the Power Dynamic...

Independence by Design™ ·

2026/01/01

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

en

01:47:21

#474: Luke Maupin | How to Flip the Power Dynamic...

Independence by Design™ ·

2026/01/01

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

en

01:29:11

#473: John Bartlett | What Selling a Business Really...

Independence by Design™ ·

2025/12/25

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

en

01:29:11

#473: John Bartlett | What Selling a Business Really...

Independence by Design™ ·

2025/12/25

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

en

01:02:09

#472: Ryan Tansom | The Only Financial Model You Will...

Independence by Design™ ·

2025/12/18

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.Watch on YouTube 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

en

01:02:09

#472: Ryan Tansom | The Only Financial Model You Will...

Independence by Design™ ·

2025/12/18

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.Watch on YouTube 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

en

01:41:51

#471: Tyler LaFleur | Stop "Playing" With AI

Independence by Design™ ·

2025/12/11

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. Watch on YouTubeIn 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

en

01:41:51

#471: Tyler LaFleur | Stop "Playing" With AI

Independence by Design™ ·

2025/12/11

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. Watch on YouTubeIn 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

en

01:37:10

#470: Greg Meredith | Strategic Planning vs. Strategy

Independence by Design™ ·

2025/12/04

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

en

01:37:10

#470: Greg Meredith | Strategic Planning vs. Strategy

Independence by Design™ ·

2025/12/04

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

en

01:14:17

#469: Alison Bechdol | Your Marketing Isn’t Broken —...

Independence by Design™ ·

2025/11/27

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

en

01:14:17

#469: Alison Bechdol | Your Marketing Isn’t Broken —...

Independence by Design™ ·

2025/11/27

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

en

01:30:10

#468: Jeff West | Redefining Leadership

Independence by Design™ ·

2025/11/20

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. Watch on YouTube We talked about the dragons that hold leaders back—fear, ego, comparison, and

en

01:30:10

#468: Jeff West | Redefining Leadership

Independence by Design™ ·

2025/11/20

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. Watch on YouTube We talked about the dragons that hold leaders back—fear, ego, comparison, and

en

00:54:42

#467: Alan Beaulieu & Kim Clark | Navigating the New...

Independence by Design™ ·

2025/11/13

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? Watch on YouTube 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

en

00:54:42

#467: Alan Beaulieu & Kim Clark | Navigating the New...

Independence by Design™ ·

2025/11/13

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? Watch on YouTube 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

en

01:29:30

#466: Lawrence Lepard | The Fiat Game Is Rigged: Fix...

Independence by Design™ ·

2025/11/06

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. Watch on YouTubeIn 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,

en

01:29:30

#466: Lawrence Lepard | The Fiat Game Is Rigged: How...

Independence by Design™ ·

2025/11/06

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. Watch on YouTubeIn 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,

en

01:11:03

#465: Nick Bradley | Pick Your Ownership Game:...

Independence by Design™ ·

2025/10/30

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

en

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