So why me?

I love small businesses and have managed and worked in them for years.  When I looked for coaching for small companies for myself, I found very few.  There were a lot of high-end, sophisticated consulting with beautiful Powerpoint presentations and well-dressed executives.  I felt intimidated and hesitant to hire them, not to mention their expensive fees.

“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler.”  Einstein

So here I am, ready to coach in a simple, direct way.  I’ve been in your shoes, experienced success and humbled by failure.  I’ve experienced the isolation and inability to bounce an idea off of someone.  Let me help you get real with yourself, bring clarity to your purpose and put a spring back into your step.

Running a business can be complicated but it doesn’t need to be.  Are you frustrated by having a great strategy and then not getting results you need?   Are you confused and unclear about the next steps to take?

I’m a business coach/consultant who helps small business owners/managers unlock their company’s potential.  I am a Certified Partner of the Predictive Index that uses science to diagnosis the behavior and cognitive abilities of you, your management team and employees.  I’ve also mentored several entrepreneurs and small business owners as a certified SCORE Mentor to develop their business concept or help run their company more effectively and efficiently.  In person or virtual coaching allows me to reach people who don’t have the time or budget to work with traditional brick and mortar consulting agencies.    Click here to see a video that explains what I do in more detail.

Helping owners and mid-level managers realize this through my coaching, allows them to regain a healthy work-life balance and get themselves and their company’s talent aligned with their strategies.  I can take you from drained and frustrated back to confident and energized.

In my 30-minute discovery call, I’ll ask a lot of pointed questions.  I have a series of exercises depending on your situation to help uncover and pinpoint the underlying problems and develop a tailored solution for you to get results.  Many business owners feel strategies and tactics need to be complex to validate them.  Those are the plans that get stuffed in a drawer.

“If I didn’t have to manage people, I’d love my job!” – Bob Shafer

Do you feel like Bob some days?  Running a company can be overwhelming, time-consuming and stressful.  Yes, it can suck.  I spent years running with my head cut off, putting out fires and working without focus.  Once I realized the power of people and the effect it could have on my productivity and ability to create a strategic plan that actually worked, I was sold.  However, Business Schools talk about how business are structured, they don’t talk about the difficult job of actually managing people with different backgrounds and values.

After 40 years in the business world, I’ve learned the importance to acquire & retain the best people possible.  All other pursuits pale in comparison.  Companies become successful using many different tactics and strategies but they all share ONE common component, great people to develop and execute them.

Don’t lose your key employees

I’ve walked into companies that have been gutted by the exodus of their best employees, with some showing up at their key competitors.  NOW THAT’S PAINFUL and it was a direct result of the company’s management working IN their business and not ON their business.

I’ve been in the trenches just like you and have felt the isolation and anxiety of leading and spinning many plates every day. Let my experiences of success and failure (oh yeah, some big ones), guide and coach you to minimize your missteps and maximize your successes and ramp up your company’s productivity and profits.

Persistent and intentional work, with a good work-life balance, will get the job done.  Let me get you from losing your good employees to keeping and attracting more great ones  I’ll show you the benefits of getting your company running on its own, hitting your goals and enjoying the journey.

How’s that for a business plan!

Let’s do this…….

My Story

I’ve worked in the small family-owned business world for 40 years, with five wholesale distribution companies serving three different industries, mostly in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I’ve been a Controller, Sales Manager, Vice President, President and General Manager with  4 to 25 million dollars in annual sales, from 15 to 125 employees.  Not in chronological order but here are some highlights:

• Over 20 years experience as President or General Manager

• Consolidated a multi-branch operation to a single warehouse nation-wide distribution system
• Started a new product line, against the grain of management, which 20 years later became 90% of its sales
• Managed ground-based and phone-based Sales models
• Updated and refreshed product lines doubling the company’s profits in 12 months
• Developed a digitized construction document system, improving efficiency and accuracy

Written software code and installed computer systems (Using 8” floppy disks if anyone remembers those!)
And most importantly, where-ever I was, focused on the people that made it all happen