My Journey: From Executive to Author — A Road Less Taken, Built on Real Business Foundations

When I retired in June 2018, I thought I had it all mapped out. After decades of leading businesses and driving growth, I was ready to embrace the life I had worked so hard to build. My vision was clear: spend three months a year at our vacation home in Colorado, explore the national parks across the country, and reconnect with family spread from coast to coast.

 

But as the months passed, a quiet restlessness crept in. The satisfaction of personal freedom wasn’t enough. I missed the daily rhythm of solving problems and seeing businesses push through challenges to unlock new growth. I had spent over 40 years immersed in the realities of business — not as a consultant looking in from the outside, but as an executive in the trenches.

 

And I couldn’t simply turn that passion off. The business world still had more to teach me, and I knew I still had much more to give.

 

A Return to Purpose: Building a Consulting Practice

In December 2018, I decided to channel that energy into something meaningful. I formed my LLC with a clear mission: to help small and mid-sized businesses master the fundamentals — the principles that, too often, get overlooked in the race for growth and survival.

 

Throughout my career, I had seen a pattern repeat itself with frustrating consistency. Even businesses with impressive top-line growth could run into trouble, not because of poor ideas or weak markets, but because they lost sight of the basics. Cash flow management. Operational excellence. Strategic clarity. Real-world decision-making grounded in hard data, not wishful thinking.

 

I wasn’t interested in offering lofty theories or high-level platitudes. I wanted to provide business owners with practical tools they could use immediately to strengthen their operations and future-proof their growth.

 

So, I went to work.

 

To validate my ideas, I immersed myself in research. I joined Facebook and LinkedIn groups, surveyed my 16,000 LinkedIn connections — tapping into a network of over 300,000 professionals — and engaged with a wide range of SMB associations. For 90 days straight, I listened carefully to the voices of business owners navigating their daily realities.

 

What I discovered confirmed my instincts: there was an urgent and growing demand for a return to fundamentals, with cash flow management at the very center.

 

Over the following nine months, I developed nearly 60 tools, all designed to help business owners drive sustainable growth in revenue, profits, cash flow, and valuation. These tools formed the backbone of a comprehensive 90-day rollout plan, supported by over 100 hours of dedicated consulting time.

 

I was ready to launch.

 

The Unexpected Pivot: A Global Crisis, and a New Path Forward

Then, the pandemic hit.

 

Practically overnight, the consulting model I had carefully built was no longer viable. Travel halted. Face-to-face meetings disappeared. Business owners were overwhelmed, fighting fires on every front.

 

What I had expected to be a season of new beginnings suddenly felt like a dead end.

But in that moment of disruption, I saw an opportunity I hadn’t previously considered. I realized that what business owners needed most wasn't another consultant. They needed trusted, accessible tools they could use on their own — practical guidance they could implement immediately, without waiting for a consultant to walk through the door.

 

That realization changed everything.

 

Instead of pausing, I pivoted. I decided to take the very tools and frameworks I had developed for one-on-one consulting and transform them into books, resources, and learning materials that could reach thousands — even tens of thousands — of SMB owners around the country.

 

At first, I questioned whether I could make this leap. I had spent my life building and running businesses, not writing books. Could I translate my hands-on experience into words that would genuinely help others? Would these tools still have power outside of the consulting room?

 

A pivotal conversation with a close friend gave me the answer. After reviewing my frameworks, they said, “This isn’t just good work. It’s important work. You need to get this into the hands of as many owners as you can.”

 

That conversation lit the fire.

 

I dove headfirst into publishing, exploring both traditional and self-publishing paths. In the end, I chose self-publishing for the creative freedom, direct reader connection, and full control over my message. What began as an obstacle became an even greater opportunity to scale my impact and help far more business owners than I ever could through consulting alone.

 

Grounding My Work in Real-World Validation

But I wasn’t satisfied with just personal experience and initial research. I wanted my books and frameworks to be backed by real-world, statistically sound insights.

 

I expanded my research even further. Over time, I compiled over 25,000 pages of documentation across more than 500 business topics, always with cash flow at the core. To deepen this work, I built something truly unique: a statistically valid, fully representative focus group of 384 small and mid-sized business owners from across the country.

 

This wasn’t just a research survey — it became a living, breathing community. These owners represented a wide range of industries, business maturity levels, and geographic locations.

 

From early-stage companies to established firms with decades of experience, they shared their insights, challenges, and solutions in a confidential, trusted environment.

 

We took our commitment to protecting these conversations seriously. Every participant operated under written confidentiality agreements and a shared promise to safeguard each other’s insights. There was no selling. No consulting. Just open, respectful dialogue focused on learning, growing, and improving together.

 

Through these conversations, I validated and refined the core pillars that shape my work today:

1. Cash Flow First Mindset: The foundation of sustainable growth

2. Culture: Sustaining success through people

3. Strategic Focus: Staying true to your direction

4. Operational Efficiency: Running a tight, effective business

5. Growth Engines and Sustainable Innovation: Fueling future opportunities

 

These insights didn’t come from theory — they came from the lived experience of business owners facing real-world challenges every single day.

 

A Mission with Purpose

Today, my mission is clear: to positively impact the lives of 35,000 SMB owners and professionals over the next five years, helping them build stronger, more resilient businesses grounded in fundamentals.

 

Everything I create — from books and tools to courses and community platforms — is built from the foundation of experience, rigorous research, and the voices of real business owners.

 

My goal is simple: to deliver clear, actionable strategies that owners can apply immediately to improve cash flow, strengthen operations, and create long-term value.

 

This isn’t about selling books for the sake of it. It’s about empowering SMB leaders to navigate complexity with confidence, using proven frameworks that work in the real world.

 

My Philosophy and Invitation to You

At the heart of everything I do is a simple, powerful belief: Master the basics — especially cash flow — and the rest will follow.

 

When you commit to the fundamentals, you create the conditions for growth, resilience, and long-term success. Excellence in the basics is not optional — it is the foundation of every thriving business.

 

If you’re an SMB owner looking for clarity, practical guidance, and tools you can trust, you’ve come to the right place. Through my books, frameworks, videos, podcasts, and community, I’m here to help you strengthen your foundation and unlock your business’s full potential.

Welcome to the journey.
 

Let’s build something extraordinary, from the ground up.