126: How to Engineer Business Value: Scaling Smart, Hiring Right, and Creating Freedom with Rens Hayes IV (Guest Episode)

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 Engineering.

In this episode of Independence by Design™, Rens and host, Ryan Tansom, break down how he engineered his business for value creation, using Ken Sanginario’s Engineer’s Value Opportunity Profile (VOP) as his roadmap. Instead of scaling haphazardly, Rens built his company by systematically improving the eight functional areas that drive business valuation—the same areas buyers care about most.  

Rens and his partner have taken a deliberate approach to aligning cash flow, valuation timelines, and growth goals, ensuring that every dollar reinvested moves them closer to financial independence. Whether you are preparing for an eventual exit or simply want to build a business that works for you instead of the other way around, this conversation is packed with insights that will change the way you think about scaling, hiring executives, and managing risk.

Rens Hayes is a structural engineer and entrepreneur who transformed H&O Structural Engineering by applying enterprise value principles to modernize the traditional engineering industry. After experiencing due diligence firsthand, he shifted from operator to owner mindset, implementing Ken Sanginario's Value Opportunity Profile to align business growth with long-term value creation. Hayes helps real estate developers maximize returns through strategic design and cost-efficient engineering, while sharing insights on scaling, capital allocation, and executive hiring—expertise valuable for business owners seeking to build wealth-generating enterprises rather than just larger companies.

Resources:

Website: H&O Structural Engineering 

LinkedIn: Rens Hayes 

Podcast: The H&O Podcast 

Sound Bites: 

"Scaling a business isn’t just about revenue—it’s about building an asset buyers actually want." – Rens Hayes 

"The biggest mistake founders make? Hiring executives before they know what success looks like." – Ryan Tansom 

"If you don’t know how to allocate capital inside your own business, you’re just hoping for growth—not engineering it." – Rens Hayes 

"There’s a difference between working in the business and working on the business. The sooner you figure that out, the sooner you get your time back." – Ryan Tansom 

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Our goal is to help people in the industry identify opportunities for growth by sharing the journey of top performers. There is no one path. Success isn't a straight line. There is something to learn from everyone's story. Let's go!

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