Do you meet these criteria?
FOUNDERS AND PARTNERS
Members must be part of the executive leadership team.
Professional Service Firms
Member firms must be classified in NAICS 54.
5M - 100M Revenue
Member firms must have scaled revenue and profits beyond the startup stage.
NORTH AMERICA
Member firms must be headquartered in North America.
What are the topics discussed?
Am I solving problems clients are willing to pay to solve?
What is my true ideal client profile?
Is my firm differentiated from the competition?
Do I have the right monetization strategy?
How do I price my services?
Have I engineered service delivery to maximize profit?
How do I win new clients and expand existing clients?
Which new services should I bring to market and am I in the right markets?
Can the firm generate high client satisfaction consistently leading to repeat/recurring revenue?
Have I built a management team that can scale the firm with me?
How do I split up the equity pie?
What is my firm worth, who would buy it, and on what terms?
Who are the members?
Exiting Edward
Wants / Needs / Desires
- Wants to sell at the right time, for the right price, on the right terms, and for the right reasons.
- Needs to remove themselves from the day-to-day and enable the team.
- Desires an exit rewarding him/her for what they’ve built.
Goals & Priorities
- Learn from seasoned pro.
- Get business in order.
- Maximize valuation.
- Win. Win in business. Win in Exit.
- Share their experience with others.
Challenges
- Don’t know what they don’t know.
- Often feel like the smartest person in the room.
Job Responsibilities
- Working more than 50% ON the business.
- Seeks an exit/payday in the near future.
Learning Preferences
- Reader.
- Podcast listener.
- Learns from story telling.
- Seeks out ‘winners.’
Stalled Samuel
Wants / Needs / Desires
- Wants to learn what needs to change to move the firm forward.
- Needs to free themselves from IN the business work to ON the business work.
- Desires to see progress again.
Goals & Priorities
- Get a work/life balance.
- Take this firm where he knows it can go.
- Fix Sales, Marketing, Service Delivery, you name it.
- Lend a helping hand to those around them.
Challenges
- Have tried to fix this before with Mentor, Coach, Groups. Nothing works.
- My business is unique, my problems are unique. No one can help me.
Job Responsibilities
- Everything. Pulled into nearly every decision.
- Tried to hire strong Executive Team. Only 50% successful.
Learning Preferences
- Doesn’t have time to learn.
- Moving from fire to fire.
Connected Chris
Wants / Needs / Desires
- Wants to build high quality, meaningful relationships with relevant peers.
- Needs to collaborate with their network to stimulate new thinking.
- Desires to be seen as a central figure in their industry.
Goals & Priorities
- Wants to be seen as an Expert.
- High Achiever.
- Building a world-class exec team.
- Setting the standard with distinctive Methodology
- Connect people and help them succeed.
Challenges
- Lots of voices with advice. Which ones matter?
- Pressed for time.
- Too many ideas and not enough bandwidth to execute.
Job Responsibilities
- Founder and CEO.
- 50/50 split working on the Business and in the business.
Learning Preferences
- Willing to learn from experts.
- Seeks and takes advice.
- Reads a ton.
Learning Lucy
Wants / Needs / Desires
- Wants to continuously enhance their knowledge and skills to stay ahead of the competition.
- Needs a constant flow of new ideas.
- Desires to become a better leader through continuous improvement.
Goals & Priorities
- Grow the firm in a scalable, sustainable way.
- Wants to do it right rather than rushing into initiatives.
- Processes and hiring. The right people working on the right things.
- Teach others new things.
Challenges
- Has to be conscious of Shiny Object Syndrome.
- Is so well read that they can pivot too quickly to the latest thing.
Job Responsibilities
- Founder and possibly CEO.
- Would like to elevate to working more “on” the business but has a hard time letting go.
Learning Preferences
- Books, papers, blogs.
- Will definitely listen to podcasts but prefers written information to return to and analyze
Ambitious Alex
Wants / Needs / Desires
- Wants to see their ambitious plans come to fruition, proving doubters wrong.
- Needs reliable and accurate information to make informed decisions.
- Desires to be a success story personally and professionally.
Goals & Priorities
- To continue to make money and grow firm.
- Exiting isn’t a thought.
- Find ways to continue to grow. This is their legacy.
- Support others in their ambitions.
Challenges
- Can sometimes feel like a hamster in a wheel.
- Business is good and has been good, but when does this get easier?
Job Responsibilities
- Actively running the firm (CEO).
- Still involved in either selling, delivering or both.
- Likely has co-founder or trusted #2.
Learning Preferences
- Reads materials only in their area of expertise.
- Not as big on general business principles because their business is unique.’
Accidental Anne
Wants / Needs / Desires
- Wants to build a firm bigger than themselves.
- Needs to fill in the gaps in their business knowledge.
- Desires to feel confident and competent in their role as a business owner.
Goals & Priorities
- To build a firm that is sustainable and bigger than themselves.
- Empower team to take over.
- Expand service offering to solve more problems.
- Help others find their path.
Challenges
- Not always sure what metric/initiative will drive the most positive change.
Job Responsibilities
- Very involved in Sales and Service Delivery.
- May be required to ‘close’ every deal.
- Often called in with Service Delivery questions/issues.
Learning Preferences
- When time allows, tries to consume general business resources
- Stays on top of all of the advancements in area of domain expertise.
- Has an unread stack of books.
Overwhelmed Olivia
Wants / Needs / Desires
- Wants to find balance between personal and professional life.
- Needs practical strategies for time management and proper delegation.
- Desires to create a sustainable business that doesn’t rely solely on their efforts.
Goals & Priorities
- To get out of the weeds.
- Cannot articulate.
- More Revenue, Better Service. But hard to pin down the exact action plan.
- Offer support to others.
Challenges
- Time management.
- Needs help in distinguishing between the urgent and the important.
Job Responsibilities
- EVERYTHING! Not a great delegator and easily frustrated when things are not done correctly or to their standards.
Learning Preferences
- Wants a custom solution that will work specifically for their firm.
Disciplined Diana
Wants / Needs / Desires
- Wants to learn proven best practices to apply to their firm.
- Needs regular, relevant tools and resources to keep the firm on track.
- Desires to create a sustainable and scalable business through disciplined execution.
Goals & Priorities
- Grow the firm, put scalable practices in place.
- Exit one day, but not on immediate horizon.
- Tackling one strategic initiative at a time.
- Methodical.
- Assist others in reaching their goals.
Challenges
- Being surprised by something in the business.
- Likes order and when something unexpected happens, it can be jarring.
Job Responsibilities
- Defined. Has a team around them.
- Committed to removing themselves from working in the business but it might take time.
Learning Preferences
- Flexible. Will gather ideas from content and resources.
- Will take action from coaches.
- Will read blogs and Solution Guides.
Tribal Tom
Wants / Needs / Desires
- Wants a sense of community and loyalty.
- Needs strategies for effective team building and leadership.
- Desires to see their team thrive and achieve their full potential.
Goals & Priorities
- Continue to grow and eyeing an exit in next 4-7 years.
- Hitting their targets.
- Navigating changes in the business environment.
- Challenging his leadership team so they continue to grow.
- Help leaders along their journey.
Challenges
- Lots of change in the industry.
- Wants to stay nimble to weather (and take advantage of) the economic storms.
Job Responsibilities
- Founder with a capable team around them.
Learning Preferences
- Loves learning from other people’s real experiences.
- Stories and analogies really work for them.