Skillful Strategies
Build something that lasts
For leaders who know their business shouldn't depend on them for everything
Some business owners want to be the hero of every story. Every decision flows through them. Every solution comes from them. They've built a job, not a business.
You're different. You want to build something that works without you. A business that creates opportunities for others. Systems that empower teams. Value that lasts.
I've been learning why businesses fail to work without their owners my entire life. Fourth-generation Toledo business family - I watched my parents fight through crisis after 9/11, trying to keep one business alive while growing another. Then I spent 14 years at 2-SCALE making the same mistakes myself.
The hard lesson? Most businesses fail to scale not because of strategy, but because they're built on one person's knowledge instead of repeatable systems. The patterns repeat across generations until someone breaks them.
Let's build something that lasts
Who This Is For
You know there's a better way to build
Maybe you're just starting and want to get it right from the beginning. Or you've been at it for years and feel like you're drowning in your own success. Either way, you know there has to be a better way than doing everything yourself.
This resonates if you:
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Want your business to create opportunities for others, not just yourself
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Believe documentation and systems create freedom, not bureaucracy
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Think about building something that could outlast you
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Value developing your team's capabilities
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See growth as impact, not just revenue
We might not be a fit if you:
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Prefer to keep all decisions flowing through you
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View systems as unnecessary overhead
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Are looking for quick-fix growth hacks
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Want traditional management consulting
The difference: You're not trying to be irreplaceable. You're trying to build something that matters.
Why You're Stuck
Every stage, same trap
"I try to step away, but keep getting pulled back in"
You've built something real. Customers love what you do. Revenue is solid. But somewhere along the way, success became suffocating.
The Pattern I see:
Year 1-2: The Hustle Trap
Everything runs through you because you ARE the business. Normal at first, but you're already building tomorrow's prison.
Year 3-7: The Growth Trap
More success means more hours. You hire people but spend your time managing them. You're working IN the business, never ON it. Family sees less of you even though you built this for them.
Year 8+: The Golden Handcuffs
You've built something valuable that completely depends on you. Can't sell it. Can't step back. Can't take a real vacation without constant calls. You worry about protecting what you've built but don't know how to step back without watching quality slip.
The Real Problem: It's not your people. It's not your market. It's not even your strategy.
You've never learned how to get the knowledge out of your head and into systems that work without your constant involvement. Every decision needs you because you never documented HOW you make decisions. Every problem needs you because you never created frameworks for solving problems.
The Truth Nobody Talks About: Most successful business owners are trapped by their own expertise. The very knowledge that built your success is now limiting it.
But here's what experience taught me: The businesses that break free aren't smarter or luckier. They just learned to build systems instead of being the system.
And this took time to learn: You can't solve a systems problem with more effort. You solve it by building differently.
The Solution
The Order Matters
Everyone tells you to grow. Scale. Hire. Expand. But that's like adding a second story to a house with a cracking foundation. During COVID, when keeping our family business in operations, I learned something: The businesses that survived weren't the ones with the best growth strategies. They were the ones with strong foundations.
The Framework:
Blueprint (What are you actually building?)
Not a mission statement for your website. A real, clear picture of the business you want. One that serves your life instead of consuming it. Most owners can't articulate this. They just know they're tired.
We figure out: What does success actually look like? How many hours do you want to work? What decisions should need you versus what should happen automatically?
Foundation (Systems that actually work)
This isn't about 200-page manuals nobody reads. It's about documenting how decisions get made. Creating frameworks for common problems. Building simple, repeatable ways to deliver what you do best.
At 2-SCALE, documenting our processes cut training time from 6 months to 3. Not because we got smarter. Because we finally wrote down what we already knew.
Growth (Now it's sustainable)
With blueprints and foundations in place, growth stops meaning more hours for you. Your team can think. Quality stays consistent. You can actually take that vacation.
The Difference
Most consultants want to optimize what you have. I help you build what you actually want. There's a big difference. Because what you have might be successful, but what you want is sustainable.
You wouldn't build a house without blueprints. Why build a business without them?
Who I Am
I learned the hard way so you don't have to
The Story:
Fourth-generation Toledo business family. 14 years at 2-SCALE. We built something successful - trade show displays, custom manufacturing, real customers who loved us. What we didn't have was a business that could run without the family answering every question.
The expensive lesson came during COVID. We shut down for a month, then pivoted to safety partitions in 30 days. Some businesses folded immediately. Others thrived. The difference wasn't size or capital - it was whether they'd built systems or built dependencies.
That pivot only worked because we'd finally documented our processes. Not because we were planning to sell. But because we were exhausted. Tired of being the answer to everything. Sound familiar?
What I Bring:
I'm not a career consultant who learned business from case studies. I've been the owner working at 9pm. The one who couldn't take a real vacation. The one who thought "nobody else can do it right."
I was wrong. And it cost me years of unnecessary stress.
Now I help Northwest Ohio business owners build what I wish we'd built from the start. Systems that create freedom. Processes that develop people. Businesses that work without you having to.
The Truth:
Most business advice comes from people who've never signed the front of a paycheck. I have. I've made the mistakes. Learned the lessons. Built the systems.
Coffee's on me when you're ready to build something better.
The Credentials (since some people ask):
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What matters most: a lifetime of learning and 14 years of experiencing what does and does not work
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CEPA® certified (Certified Exit Planning Advisor)
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Rotary Club of Toledo member since 2012; past board member
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Ohio State Finance degree; Entrepreneurship minor
How We Work Together
Simple. Clear. No Surprises.
We start with coffee. Free, no pressure. We talk about where you're stuck.
We build your blueprint. Starting with what YOU want from life, then designing the business to match. Some people need just this clarity. Others want the full foundation.
We create systems that work. Document your expertise. Build frameworks. Train your team to think. This takes months, not days, because real change takes time.
I stick around until it sticks. Regular check-ins. Team meetings. Adjustments. Until your business runs without you.
Investment: We'll discuss specifics after coffee. Every business needs something different.
And when you're ready: If you ever decide it's time to transition - whether to family, employees, or buyers - I'll help orchestrate that too. But first, let's build something worth transferring.
Trusted Partners
I Don't Work Alone
Building strong businesses takes a village. I collaborate with trusted professionals across Northwest Ohio who share the same philosophy: do things right, build things that last.
Certified Exit Planning Advisor - Part of a national network focused on building transferable value
University of Toledo Family Business Center - Supporting multi-generational businesses across Northwest Ohio
Exit Planning Institute - Connected to transition specialists nationwide when you're ready
Local Network: I also work with CPAs, attorneys, wealth managers, and business brokers throughout Toledo and Northwest Ohio. Trusted professionals who share the same philosophy: do things right, build things that last.
The credentials matter less than the results. But sometimes it helps to know you're working with someone connected to the right resources.
