Independence by Design™
Redesign Your Business to Work for You—Not the Other Way Around. Hey there, I’m Ryan Tansom, and I know firsthand how overwhelming it can feel to be stuck in the grind of running a business. In 2009, I jumped into my family’s $21 million company when it was losing nearly $1 million a year. Over five years, we turned it around and sold it for eight figures—but the journey left me with more questions than answers. The stress, the massive tax bill, and the lack of clarity on how our decisions aligned with our goals taught me one thing: most owners don’t have a roadmap to navigate the complexities of business ownership. That’s why I created the Independence by Design™ Ownership Framework. It’s a system built to help owner-operators like you align your decisions with your goals for time, cash flow, and wealth. Over the last decade, I’ve been involved in dozens of transactions and worked with thousands of business owners, helping them shift from being stuck in the day-to-day grind to designing businesses—and lives—they love. On this podcast, I’ll show you how to escape the owner-operator trap by using the Independence by Design™ Framework to make better decisions, create sustainable cash flow, and reclaim your time. I’ll also bring in some of the smartest minds I’ve had the privilege of interviewing, like Gino Wickman, Mike Michalowicz, Chris Voss, Jack Stack, and Bo Burlingham, to challenge and inspire you along the way. This isn’t just another business podcast. Like Andrew Huberman does for science, I get into the weeds, following my curiosity and trying to be as comprehensive as possible. It’s your guide to mastering the game of ownership—whether you’re scaling, stepping back, or planning your exit. If you’re ready to take back control and finally build a business that works for you, not the other way around, you’re in the right place.
Episodes
Most business owners are exhausted by marketing that feels like a black box—random tactics, disconnected agencies, and no clear ROI. Kim Clark knows that pain—and she’s built the solution. As the former head of sales and marketing at ITR Economics, Kim helped transform the business from a founder-led consulting firm into a scalable company that exited at eight figures—without relyi...
This episode sets the bar. Pat Hobby, my former business partner, is one of the best CFOs I’ve ever worked with. He’s not just a CPA or an operator—he brings an investor mindset and decades of experience managing financials with the purpose of building long-term value. In this conversation, we break down exactly what a business owner should expect from a high-performing CFO—and why...
Many owner-operators begin their journey driven by the vision of personal and financial independence, only to find themselves entrenched in the daily operations, unable to step away without fear of chaos. In this episode, I talk with Rob Dube, co-founder of ImageOne and visionary behind The 10 Disciplines for Managing and Maximizing Your Energy™, about how to break free from the ow...
Today I'm talking with Shannon Susko, a serial entrepreneur who developed the 3HAG (3-Year Highly Achievable Goal) and Metronomics frameworks. What sets Shannon's approach apart is how directly it connects your strategic plan and execution rhythms to clear, measurable financial outcomes. It's an operating system built specifically for business owners who un...
SBA loans have always been a key tool for financing business acquisitions, but recent changes have opened up new opportunities for both buyers and sellers. If you're thinking about selling your business, acquiring one, or financing a transition, these updates could have a major impact on your strategy.
In this episode, I sit ...
The economy is shifting fast, and if you’re a middle-market business owner, the moves you make today will define your future—whether that’s navigating capital markets, securing financing, or making critical reinvestment decisions.
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In this Quarterly Economic & M&A Update, I bring together three powerhouse guests to give you real-tim...
Scaling a business isn’t just about increasing revenue—it’s about building the right leadership team to support that growth. Too often, business owners get stuck because their team isn’t structured for the future, leaving them to fill the gaps instead of leading strategically.
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In this episode, I sit down with Rick Rittmaster and Mike Fromm...
More revenue, more employees, and more complexity can actually pull you deeper into the day-to-day grind—unless your business is structured the right way.
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In this episode, I sit down with Nick Bradley, a business growth strategist and private equity veteran who has worked on billion-dollar deals and now helps business owners scale with pu...
Many business owners dream of building a company that thrives without them, but few understand what it takes to make that a reality—especially when facing a leadership crisis. In this episode, I sit down with Heather Braimbridge-Cox, CEO of Windings, and Bill Mills, founder of The Leadership Process™, to break down how to transform a struggling culture, develop high-performing team...
I’ve spent the last handful of episodes diving deep into business valuations, M&A jargon, and how buyers think about value. But here’s the thing—most of it doesn’t matter unless you actually have cash left over at the end of the day.
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That’s why I brought Patrick Donohue back on the show. He and I have been in the trenches, working wit...
Most business owners go through a pivotal moment—their first real look behind the curtain at how buyers value companies. For Rens Hayes, that moment came when he went through a sale and due diligence process for his father’s structural steel business. What he learned from that experience completely changed how he approached building and scaling his own company, H&O Structural E...
In a world full of business jargon and complicated metrics, free cash flow stands out as the foundation of value creation for both owner-operators and investors. kXVm3nQBij8
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Ken Sanginario returns to focus on this core principle, unpacking the noise ar...
Most business owners focus on the offer price when selling their business—but the deal structure is what ultimately determines how much you walk away with, when you get it, and how much risk you take on.
In this episode of Independence by Design™, I sit down with Dave Diehl, CEO of Prairie Capital Advisors, to demystify the ...
Most business owners think a high offer price is the ultimate goal in selling their business—but the truth is, every buyer has their own game plan, and not all offers are created equal.
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In this episode of Independence by Design™, I sit down with Jeff Buettner from ButcherJoseph to explore how private equity firms, strategic buyers, and fam...
As a business owner, you’ve likely heard terms like EBITDA, working capital, and Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC)—but do they feel relevant to your day-to-day decisions? In this episode, I sit down with Ken Sanginario and John Lawlor to demystify these concepts and show how they directly impact your ability to grow, scale, and transition your business.
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Running a business often feels like juggling flaming torches—especially when cash flow, growth, and operations clash with your personal goals. Today, I sit down with Jimmy Fritz, a good friend and second-generation business owner of The Wedding Shoppe and Kennedy Blue, to unpack his journey from being entrenched in daily operations to becoming a true owner-operator. Jimmy’s experie...
Many business owners struggle to connect their financials to actionable insights and ownership goals. In this episode of Independence by Design™, I sit down with Tracy Bech—founder of the 60-Minute CFO and creator of a financial forecasting system that simplifies the three-statement model—to break down the 14 Ownership KPIs that every owner-operator needs t...
Many business owners wrestle with understanding the CEO’s role and its connection to ownership. In this episode of Independence by Design™, I sit down with Joel Trammell—a seasoned entrepreneur who has grown and sold two companies to nine-figure exits—to break down what a CEO truly does, how the role aligns with ownership, and how owners can transition out ...
If you’ve ever read Profit First or The Pumpkin Plan, you know Mike Michalowicz delivers game-changing ideas for entrepreneurs. In this episode, we dive into his newest book, All In, and talk about the systems, frameworks, and mindset shifts you need to build a business that thrives—with or without you in the room.
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Mike and I tackle the bi...
If you’ve ever wondered how to protect and scale your company’s culture while cutting down on friction, drama, and the “execution gaps” that keep you stuck in the weeds, this episode is for you. I sit down with Bill Mills, founder of The Leadership Process, to dive into the strategies that help owner-operators like you align your team, systematize your culture, and build a business...
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