Gerald Stowers

Start Well. Build Well. Finish Well. Live Well.

Practical lessons from building a company, raising a family, and exiting well.

Start. Build. Finish. Live.

I took over a six-person payroll company that was losing money and spent 30 years growing it 24x. Including 22 straight years of double-digit growth and ten acquisitions made without a dollar of private equity. I also raised two boys, coached 21 seasons of their teams, and watched more than 500 of their games. In 2024 I sold the company on my terms.

Now I split my time between Texas and an island in Belize, and I’m not done building.

People learn the most from mistakes, and I made plenty. So learn from mine, then go make your own. This is where I write them down: for people starting out, for owners in the middle of it, and for anyone wondering what comes next.

My goal is simple: help you get there sooner and enjoy the ride as much as the reward. The last part, living well, I’m still learning myself. Come along for the ride.


Read My Story

2 Cents from the Trenches

For owners in the middle of it. Thirty years running a company, ten acquisitions, and one sale, written down as practical lessons: growing the business, keeping a family while you do it, and deciding how to finish. No theory, no guru talk. Just what worked, what didn’t, and what I’d do differently.

You’ll Thank Me Later

For the years between 17 and 30: school, first job, first business, first kid. The advice I wish someone had handed me, and some I got and ignored. Read it now, argue with it if you want, and see which parts you thank me for later.

Life on the Caye

What the work was for. Boats, fishing, diving, the food, and the slow pace of Ambergris Caye, Belize, from someone still learning how to slow down. If you’ve ever wondered what the island ending really looks like, this is it, mistakes included.

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