hris Jones' speech on Day 1 at his newly-acquired business didn't go well.

It was an inauspicious start to a months-long harrowing slog.

Unhelpful sellers.

A quiet-quitting GM who eventually quit-quit — and quit to start a competing business.

And scariest of all, collapsing sales.

It's enough to make you go fetal.

(And I think these terrifying transitions deserve a moniker: fetal transition.)

But — just over a year later, and Chris has righted the ship.

Sales have returned.

The people at the business are on-board for his leadership.

And Chris feels like he sees not just mere survival in his future, but growth.

He's actually contemplating buying another business.

This is the story of how he pushed through.

Please enjoy my conversation with Chris Jones, owner of a $6m foundation repair business in North Carolina.