Five key employees had served in combat together with the seller. The buyer was military, but he had never been in combat with these men. In small business acquisitions, employees cannot be bound to a non-compete. If those five walked on day one, the entire business collapsed. Yet Eric was about to sign a personal guarantee, putting his own net worth behind five people who had zero legal obligation to stay. Every week during diligence, I pushed him on whether he had actually earned their trust or if he was betting his balance sheet on hope. Watch the video to see how Eric solved the loyalty problem before signing the note. redacted