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.
10-250 EMPLOYEES
Member firms must have scaled revenue, profits, and employee count 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.