📖 The Story Behind My Work: Real Businesses. Real Insights. Real Tools for SMB Owners.

What started as a simple goal — to understand what really keeps SMB owners up at night — quickly turned into something much bigger.

In late 2019, I began researching the everyday challenges facing small and medium-sized businesses. At first, I thought this would become a consulting practice. But as the pandemic hit,

I saw something even more urgent: SMB owners didn’t just need advice — they needed practical, proven tools they could use themselves.

So, I built something powerful: a fully representative focus group of 384 business owners, across industries and across the country, all running businesses between $1 million and $25 million in revenue.

These weren’t just surveys or generic interviews. We built a real community — a trusted, confidential space where business owners could openly share their biggest challenges and their breakthrough solutions.

And I made sure our conversations were fully protected, with clear mutual understanding, written confidentiality agreements, and a shared commitment to safeguarding each other's insights at the core of everything we did. Every participant knew from the start that their experiences, challenges, and ideas would never be disclosed outside the group, ensuring a safe, trusted environment. This was never about selling or consulting — it was about creating a protected space for honest, real-world learning, where business owners could speak freely and confidently, knowing their insights were treated with the utmost care and integrity.

✅ Industries represented:
Manufacturing, Distribution, Professional Services, Retail, Construction, Technology, and more.

✅ Business maturity:
From businesses in their first few years to those with 20+ years of experience.

✅ Geography:

Nationwide, coast to coast.

Why 384 businesses? Simple. Statistically, that gives a 95% confidence level — meaning the insights I gathered reflect what millions of SMB owners are experiencing right now.

We talked about cash flow pressures, market shifts, growth challenges, team building, risk management, and the daily realities of keeping a business alive and thriving.

Through this group, I identified the five core pillars that every SMB owner cares about:

Cash Flow First Mindset: A Foundation for Growth
Culture: Nurturing Sustainable Success
Strategic Focus: Guiding Long-Term Success
Operational Efficiency: Optimizing Your Business
Growth Engines and Sustainable Innovation: Fueling the Future

This isn’t theory. It’s not "consultant speak."

Everything I write and every tool I create is built directly from these conversations, this research, my own deep online research, and over 40 years of hands-on business leadership experience — ensuring a thorough, well-rounded, and rigorously developed foundation for every book and framework I produce.

The result? Proven, easy-to-use frameworks and tools designed specifically for owners like you — busy, resource-limited, and looking for clear answers to run your business better.

And the best part? The learning never stops.

Our focus group remains an active, evolving community. We continue to share insights, success stories, and real-world lessons to make sure what I share with you stays fresh, relevant, and immediately useful.

If you’ve ever felt like some business books were out of touch with reality, you’re in the right place.

Here, it’s all about practicality, proof, and progress.

Welcome to a community built for business owners, by business owners.