Conquering Bad Debt: A Business Owner’s Guide Artwork

The Integrated Entrepreneur

Welcome to The Integrated Entrepreneur with Jonathan Fodera, hosted by founder, author, public speaker, investor and entrepreneur Jonathan Fodera. On this podcast you'll learn strategies on how to become a better operator, how to acquire more clients for your company, how to retain those clients, valuable lessons, and how you can avoid the mistakes that Jonathan has triumphed on his path to $500M+ in financing for business owners and entrepreneur's.

Meet the Co-Host:
Keith Gause was born in Houston, Texas and moved to Jacksonville, Florida at the age of 2. He continues to reside in Jacksonville with my wife, Deanna, and two daughters: Addison (13) and Kylee (10) and their 4 dogs, a cat, a bearded dragon, and a snake. (If it were left to the ladies to decide, they would have a zoo!)

Keith’s childhood was spent playing sports, being an only child, and watching his father become an entrepreneur by continuously failing and trying again. His father built a multimillion-dollar company allowing him to retire and live the life he always dreamed about. Watching his father’s journey taught him a lot about business.

Not ready to jump into the family business, Keith went into the military in the year 2000 at age 18. He spent 5 years assigned to the 20th Special Operations Command in Ft. Walton Beach FL and spent a majority of his military career deployed to places that needed the most attention.

Keith continued in the world of excitement and danger by going into Law Enforcement where he spent 10 years working in Northwest Jacksonville. He worked the nightshift, 6pm -6am, which allowed him to have a full day to make an impact on what he ultimately wanted to do. That goal was to create an empire and to impact as many business owners as possible.

In 2009, wanting to care for his wife and first born in the best way, he took a big risk and spent his entire savings on an inactive business name and one inflatable bounce house. Bounce Around Jax Party Rentals was Northeast Florida’s #1 party and event rental business. At least that is what he believed!

By 2012, Keith was able to make a 7-figure exit and leave Law Enforcement and began to study all things finance & investing. He focused on learning about any mistakes he had made as a business owner and became obsessed with helping others avoid the same ones. That is how Tideland Consulting came to be. Now, Tideland operates in all 50 states and has created a non-bias ecosystem for growth-oriented entrepreneurs that maximizes how each dollar impacts the business, from protecting assets and reducing taxes to succession plans and exit strategies.

In 2023, Tideland aligned with GFG Solutions as a strategic partner to serve business owners at the highest level, with a white-glove service feel from a world-class team.

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The Integrated Entrepreneur

Conquering Bad Debt: A Business Owner’s Guide

December 23, 2025 • Jonathan Fodera • Episode 105

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Bad debt can quietly choke a business—and most owners don’t realize how deep the problem is until cash flow is already under pressure.

In this episode of The Integrated Entrepreneur, hosts Jonathan Fodera and Joseph Viccora break down exactly how business owners can eliminate bad debt and replace it with smarter, sustainable financing strategies. They explain the two most common forms of damaging debt—merchant cash advances and high-interest credit cards—and why these products often trap otherwise healthy businesses in a cycle that’s difficult to escape.

Jonathan and Joseph walk through real-world solutions, including term loans, asset-based financing, sale-leasebacks, invoice factoring, and SBA strategies—while also calling out the approaches that can permanently damage your credit and limit future funding options. They also expose common traps like reverse consolidations and debt settlement companies, explaining why these “quick fixes” often make the situation far worse.

Most importantly, this episode lays out a practical playbook for business owners who want to clean up their balance sheet, restore cash flow, and position themselves for better financing options in the future.

If you’re carrying debt that feels impossible to get out from under—or you want to make sure your business never ends up there—this episode is essential listening.

Key highlights: