WHAT I
CAN OFFER YOU.
Dedicated time, focused attention, and an outside perspective for businesses ready to think more clearly about what comes next.
SEE EXACTLY WHAT I MEANWhat I Do—and
What I
Don’t Do
You’ve come to me with intention; one way or another, you’re not in the place that you want to be. Whether your business is stalled out or things are “fine” (but you think they could be better), I’m here to help you level up.
There are plenty of agencies that can build a website, create a campaign, manage social media, or execute a marketing plan. But that’s not what I do. There are also plenty of services that will help you refine your very raw business idea and help you incubate your startup through its first round of funding. I do some of that work with my students while teaching an MBA capstone course that requires students to develop a business plan for a new business. If you’re looking to bounce ideas off me and think things through in their infancy, I’d be glad to do that over a cup of coffee or slices of pizza. No charge for that (beyond the cost of coffee/pizza).
What I offer is very specific. I work with existing business owners and leadership teams on the questions that come before execution: Who are we? What are we trying to become? Who are we really serving? What should we change? What should we protect? And how do we get everyone moving in the same direction?
It’s dedicated time and focused attention from a business strategist who will understand, analyze, and help grow your business. Think of my work as part business strategy, part coaching, and part outside perspective.
You know your business. I help you see it differently.
You’re good, or even great, at what you do. Maybe you’ve perfected your craft, and that probably doesn’t need to change. Whether you make widgets or provide a service, I’m not looking to change your expertise. But like any business, it needs to be treated as a living and growing entity.
If you want your business to keep growing (and you probably do), the solution is usually not doing more of what you do best; it’s better defining who you are, being more efficient at what you do, and developing stronger connections with your customers. To do this, we need to take a deep dive into your business and find ways to strengthen your brand and the way you run your business.
To do this correctly, we need to be honest and view things through a critical lens. Everything is in play and could be placed on the table to be reconsidered. But I’m usually not looking to propose radical change; I’m looking to rethink concepts and optimize your approach.
We might even want to reconsider the nature of your business. If this sounds extreme, it’s not. Here’s one of my favorite examples: Peloton. What immediately comes to mind? Yes, exercise equipment. But are they an “exercise equipment” company? No—they’re a media company with a roster of daily content creators. The core product and differentiator is the live, streaming media that users subscribe to, and the equipment is simply the vessel through which the media is delivered.
Here Are Some
Ways I Can Help
Brand Strategy
& Positioning
This is always a great first step. It creates a baseline for your business. You’re not just doing it for yourself—you’re doing it for your customers and your employees.
A strong brand guide will help your business better connect with your customers by signaling to them, “This brand is for you, we’re a great match.” It also helps your employees—all of them from top to bottom. A strong brand guide will help your employees make better decisions.
When faced with the questions, “Should we be doing this? Should we be offering more?” the answer is always simple: “Only if it’s supported by the brand guide.”
A strong brand guide is never complex. It outlines what you are and what you are not. In this way, it adds constraints and limitations that become a gift to you and your business—they provide clarity and allow you to focus on your strengths.
Mission, Vision
& Values
I would say that I’m most passionate about this. You might think that the purpose of your business is to “make widgets.” But you can be so much more than that.
Starbucks is more than just coffee. Ben & Jerry’s is more than just ice cream. They have strong mission, vision, and value statements that are clear and well defined. Their core customers know the brands stand for something much greater than the product of their business.
Let’s help you better define your mission as something that gets you excited to get out of bed in the morning and hit the ground running. Once we have a strong mission in place, we can start to think about your vision: when you imagine your business 10 years down the road, what do you want to become?
Lastly, we can curate a set of values that guide and direct your business. Values define what you stand for, and they’re what your customers can come to appreciate most about you—and what helps them feel more connected to your business ethos.
Multi-Generational
Business Transition
Are you a “family business?” That’s great and can be a beautiful thing. Working with family can have many benefits and be incredibly fulfilling. But I’ve been there before. From decades of first-hand experience, I can tell you it's also incredibly challenging.
While the entire family might be hard-working and motivated to be successful, each generation might have different ideas of how to operationalize success. It gets even trickier when the dynamics of “who’s in charge” start to shift as younger generations come of age and older generations are staring down retirement.
The transition is never easy. This is where I can help design a plan where growth and change can happen with continuity of the brand. Sometimes the challenge isn’t convincing the other generation to change. It’s figuring out what should change and what absolutely shouldn’t.
Business Coaching
& Mentorship
It’s lonely at the top. You’ve got a great team around you, but you’ve got questions that you need help with. The questions feel big and weigh on you heavily.
Some of them might be more theoretical, and you will need to hash out some plans before taking them to your team; taking these raw and abstract ideas to the team might create more confusion. Or worse, chaos.
This is where I come in. I’m the person you talk through unfinished ideas with in a casual setting where there’s very little risk. The one who responds with critical questions, challenges assumptions, helps organize the thinking, and gets you ready to bring a clearer idea to your team.
Innovation &
Technology Adoption
Change is hard. And then there’s a legitimate question that doesn’t always get asked: should you change?
Our world is moving fast, and it’s hard to know where we are while in the moment. We’re somewhere between the 4th Industrial Revolution and Web 4.0—and we’ll be quickly turning the corner to Web 5.0 before you know it.
There’s a real fear of failing to adapt to change and being left behind. There is also a sense of urgency to innovate and adopt the newest technology. At the same time, a steep learning curve—and the cost, time, and challenge of adopting and diffusing new technologies—can feel so overwhelming that the task seems insurmountable.
There’s an art to finding the right balance, and I can help.
Employee Engagement
& Organizational Change
We’ll assume your employees like your company, but could it be better? Especially once we’ve ironed out the Mission/Vision/Values that guide and direct your company, do they strike a chord with your employees? They should.
If they do not, let’s find ways to communicate the business strategy to all employees. The goal is fostering an environment where your employees embrace the change and feel strongly aligned with your company’s Mission/Vision/Values.
When employees understand where the company is going, why it matters, and where they fit into that direction, you create much stronger conditions for employee engagement and workplace satisfaction. This can also become a boost to productivity.
And I’ll say it again: change is hard. Some employees are quick to adopt, but some... well, not so much. You understand the need for change, but do they? Not only can I help you plan for change, but I can also help make sure that the transition is smooth throughout your organization.
Strategic Learning
& Strategy Workshops
As a university professor, I deliver an awesome and engaging lecture. When done well, a great learning session reminds employees that learning can be fun, thrilling, useful, and empowering to their careers.
Let me design a program for your people that creates real value for your business: custom-tailored learning experiences that help teams sharpen skills, explore new ideas or technologies, and apply fresh thinking to real business challenges.
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01
Skill refreshers
Interpersonal sales, business communication, critical thinking, customer insights, and problem-solving.
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02
Engaging with customers
Customer personas, segmentation, generational behavior, and CX.
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03
Emerging business topics
AI, technology adoption, innovation, data literacy, and analytics.
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04
Program launches
New processes, initiatives, platforms, or an entirely new strategic direction.
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05
Brainstorming / ideation
Growth, customer experience, new products, and operational challenges.
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06
Ongoing learning series
Monthly or quarterly sessions that keep employees learning over time.
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07
Leadership / manager development
Communication, coaching, decision-making, and change leadership.