So many great lessons have been learned, and here are the biggest ones. 6 episodes in, a million to go. Thanks for tuning in!

This week I sat down with a friend and role model of mine, Joani Baird. Owner of Ori Wines, mom, corporate baller, and the founder of Running for the High of It, a mental health focused run club here in Boise (the most awesome run club in the history of the universe btw).

We got to talk about the deeper meaning of Running for the High of It, mental health, the launch of her wine label Ori Wines (OUT NOW!), lessons Joani has learned in the corporate world, and so much more 🤘🏻

You rock Joani, thank you so much for your time :)

Connect with Joani:
🏃 Running for the High of It — Thursdays, 6:30pm, Wild Child/Push & Pour/The Still
🍷 Ori Wines — oriwines.com



00:00 – Intro & getting to know Joani
00:36 – The origin story of Running for the High of It
03:08 – Growth, proud moments, and impact of the run club
07:37 – Mental health stats and why rates are climbing
11:05 – Social media, comparison culture, and mental health
12:00 – Breaking down expert-backed self-care tips
16:17 – Parenting in the social media age & raising her daughter
20:05 – Joani's personal mental health routines & staying balanced with a packed schedule
23:27 – Her experience in therapy and finding the right fit
27:48 – Her corporate career path in food/CPG sales
38:58 – Ori Wines — the origin, her brother's story, and what's next
47:48 – Where to find Joani, Run Club, and Ori Wines

Stu Block is a CPA and environmental accountant who founded Sustas LLC, an ESG and sustainability consulting firm based in Boise, Idaho. He built the firm from scratch after leaving Ernst & Young, landed clients including Amazon, and grew and sold the company in just a few short years. He is currently the Energy and GHG Inventory Leader at GE Vernova, and is launching a new business on the side as well: Warm Springs Financial Group — with the tagline "Finally, a CPA who knows your name in July."

Stu, you're a gangster. Thanks for the great stories and advice.

0:00 — Intro & Stu's background: CPA, environmental accounting, Ernst & Young
10:00 — Building an independent consulting firm: "You are the product"
23:00 — Origin story: solar panels on a frat house roof and how it led to entrepreneurship
26:00 — Networking strategy, maintaining relationships, and why phone calls still win
35:00 — Working inside big companies: small wins, communication styles, and ego at the door
41:00 — Pricing yourself, rate negotiation, and scaling the solo practice
46:00 — Sales mindset: confidence vs. desperation and why "sell" isn't a dirty word
51:00 — Finding a co-founder, building the partnership, and what happened at the exit
59:00 — What's next: Warm Springs Financial Group and "the CPA who knows your name in July"

Cooper Marsh is the Co-Owner of Lab MGMT — a boutique sports agency managing elite CrossFit athletes, flag football players, golfers, and more. Cooper got his start under mentor Jason St. Clair while teaching 8th grade math in Providence, Rhode Island, and has since built Lab MGMT into one of the most connected agencies in functional fitness. In this episode we get into how he and Daniel Robbins merged their rival agencies, what it's actually like to negotiate brand deals for athletes, why he thinks flag football is about to be the next big thing in sports, the FIFA World Cup, how he talked his way into Oxford University, and more.

Timestamps: 0:00 — Intro + What is Lab Management? 1:46 — How Cooper got into sports agency (Jason St. Clair, X Endurance, teaching) 4:06 — Merging with Daniel Robbins and moving to Boise 5:46 — How Cooper and Daniel split responsibilities 7:29 — Handling conflict as business partners 9:58 — Prioritization and the Uncalendar system 12:55 — Why they exited skateboarding + flag football's explosive growth 18:20 — Working in baseball: what brands actually want from athletes 23:11 — The art of negotiating brand deals 25:12 — Home run partnerships: Adidas, Tier, RAD, Gym Reapers 27:00 — World Cup flyover moment + why soccer is a religion 33:16 — The Oxford story: backdoor entry, lacrosse, and varsity ski trips 40:54 — What the Oxford tutorial system actually taught him 42:29 — Why competition is central to his identity 44:40 — 4th of July spike ball + competitive indoor soccer 46:44 — Cooper's training routine (hybrid CrossFit / bodybuilding / running) 51:14 — CrossFit's current state + Hyrox's rise 54:49 — ATHEX: the bridge between Hyrox and CrossFit 57:12 — Optimism for the future of fitness + what's next for Lab MGMT

Follow Cooper: Instagram: @coopermarsh / @labmgmt

Tom Posen is a professor of music, producer, DJ, and the founder of Under the Trees, a pop-up EDM event brand in Boise, ID. He also helps run Space Banana, teaches EDM production at the College of Idaho, and is developing two music projects of his own.

We cover what it takes to build an event brand from scratch, and the many lessons that Tom learned along the way as he built up Under the Trees.

Follow Under the Trees: @underthetrees.boise Follow Dr. Tom: @dr.tom.music

0:00 — What is Under the Trees?

3:48 — The penitentiary event and first park parties

6:50 — Building UTT from zero with no gear, no contacts, no permits

17:46 — Space Banana, afters culture, and the Boise club scene

24:46 — Headlining the penitentiary and the $0 profit reality

33:34 — From Beethoven to EDM: Dr. Tom's music projects

44:00 — Teaching EDM production and social media at the College of Idaho

Ian Fadness didn't plan on owning a coffee shop. He just wanted to make a really good cappuccino. In this episode, Ian walks us through his coffee journey. From a life-changing espresso in Denver, to the grind of Seattle cafes, to buying Slow by Slow Coffee in downtown Boise with his wife in 2022 (with zero business experience and a baby on the way).

We get into the "Unreasonable Hospitality" philosophy that guides everything they do, what it actually takes to grow a business without a marketing budget, winning a design award at the World of Coffee Expo in San Diego, and what's next, including their 10th anniversary celebration on July 17th.

Thanks for tuning in!

0:00 — Intro: Meet Ian Fadness
0:09 — What is Slow by Slow Coffee?
0:41 — How Ian got into coffee (the Denver cappuccino that started it all)
2:34 — His first barista job and the chaos of a one-man cafe
4:22 — What kept drawing him back to coffee
6:29 — How Ian and his wife ended up buying Slow by Slow
10:56 — The real learning curve: taxes, payroll, and running a business with a newborn
13:44 — Growing without marketing — quality sourcing and word of mouth
15:31 — Discovering "Unreasonable Hospitality" by Will Guidara
20:08 — How hospitality shows up in the small details
21:35 — Finding and keeping great staff (and why turnover is almost zero)
23:00 — Brian's story: he applied to work at Slow by Slow (plot twist)
25:02 — Crazy customer stories — South Seattle vs. Boise
26:39 — The customer who became their brand designer
29:16 — What makes a great regular
32:42 — The renovation and the connections it brought
34:42 — Winning best cafe design at the World of Coffee Expo in San Diego
37:14 — The design philosophy behind Slow by Slow's space
45:09 — Work-life balance, fatherhood, and the seasons of business ownership
50:52 — Advice Ian would give himself on day one
52:13 — What's next: systems, potential expansion, and the 10th anniversary (July 17th!)

I started a podcast. Here's what it is and why you should care.

The Casual Consulting Podcast is about sitting down with entrepreneurs, business owners, creators, and professionals from all different fields and learning from them. The game of business is the game of business. There's always something to take from somebody doing something worth doing, no matter what they're building or selling.

I'm Brian. I graduated from Boise State in 2023, ran a youth sports org called Boise After School Athletics for a few years (terrible name, great experience), and now I own CrossFit Casual here in Boise. We've been open about a year and a half and have grown to over 260 members. Proud of that, but there's a lot more room to go.

This podcast is partly selfish. I want to sit down with people I can learn from for an hour and ask them everything. As a byproduct of that, you get to hear the answers too. Every week there will be a guest episode. Between those, I'll post shorter solo content with thoughts on business, things I'm implementing, and what I'm working on.

Two types of people are probably watching this: someone I personally know (what's up), or someone with an interest in entrepreneurship and building a business. Either way, you're in the right place.

A couple things I'm working on right now: making CrossFit Casual the best version of itself, and figuring out how to use AI as a business owner who wears a lot of hats. More on both coming.

Subscribe!

0:00 Intro

0:14 What is Casual Consulting?

0:28 Who I sit down with and why

0:54 The game of business is the game of business

1:05 Why a podcast

1:21 Weekly episodes and solo content

1:45 Keeping a journal of my entrepreneurship progress

2:01 The accountability piece

2:34 Okay, it's a little selfish

2:39 Why should you care?

2:49 Two types of people watching this

3:18 What I can offer as a resource

3:52 Quick background on me

3:56 Boise State, 2023

4:09 My first business: Boise After School Athletics

4:16 13 schools, 15 coaches, $4000 to start

4:39 Coaching CrossFit and spotting the opportunity

5:08 Starting CrossFit Casual

5:20 A year and a half in, 260+ members

5:47 What I want CrossFit Casual to become

6:10 What I'm working on and thinking about

6:23 AI and what it means for small business owners

7:16 Subscribe and tune in

Real estate, juggling family life, and more. Welcome to the pod gang.