Small Business Success Stories

“It was hard for me to get perspective on what was going on in my company, so I was looking for an outside opinion,” Roger explains. He hired Kevin Lister of Paradigm Strategies to take a fresh and an objective look at his business.

Once Kevin familiarized himself with the company, how it was run and the growth rate it attained, he helped Roger and his team with defining their business goals. Those goals were the focus of a business strategy Kevin developed along with a revised marketing plan that outlined optimal tactics for attracting new business and increasing sales.

“Working with Kevin was a positive experience,” says Roger. “He maintained frequent contact and kept us on track as we worked to pursue our goals. Kevin holds people accountable for the goals they’ve committed themselves to, and, as a result, we ultimately accomplished what we set out to do.”

Roger further comments, “Small business owners can benefit from getting help from an outside source. If you want to bring in someone to look at your business, work with your team to develop goals, and follow up on meeting those goals, Kevin is a good fit. He’s very professional and able to help a company move in the right direction.”

“We wanted to get a sense of our size in relation to other construction businesses and find out what bucket we are in,” says Dani. “We hired Kevin because he knows the industry and could assist us with clarifying our vision and advise us on how to jump to the next bucket. We have taken real world situations and issues and figured out how others have addressed them and do things.”

Kevin worked with Dani and Phoenix Construction to create a business plan with a well-defined set of goals and objectives, and he has guided the company through implementing the necessary activities to achieve them. “Now, we monitor our progress, assessing where we are, where we need to go and how to get there,” says Dani.

“He is very pleasant and someone you can click with,” says Dani. “And, because he’s driven to see you succeed, he keeps you focused on what you need to do. That’s exactly what I was looking for. I know that people are sometimes skeptical of consultants, but I say to them they should give Kevin a chance. He’s good at what he does.”

After a couple of years of struggling with business profitability, Fred contacted Paradigm Strategies. “I was frustrated with my business results and my wife suggested I reach out to someone who could help. I called Kevin, and after my initial conversation, due to his business knowledge, experience and straight-forward insight, I felt he was the guy who could help me,” says Fred. Kevin analyzed his remodeling business and then created a business plan that would steer his business in the right direction. “Since working with Kevin, and as a result of holding me accountable, sales have grown, I am estimating better, profits are up and cash flow has improved. Business is good. I highly recommend Kevin to any small business owner who wants to improve his or her company,” shares Fred.

Looking to transition his business from the commercial market to the residential market, Jim called on Paradigm Strategies. “Transitioning a business is not an easy thing. To make the change successful you need to be sure you have all the bases covered – sales, marketing, finance, operations and HR/management. This is why I contacted Kevin, he knows small business,” says Jim. Kevin repositioned the company, implemented new sales, marketing, customer service, finance, operational and management systems and created monitoring controls. Shares Jim, “The transition has gone smoothly. Revenue is growing, margins and cash flow are strong and possibly more importantly, I am really enjoying running the business. I highly recommend Kevin to any plumbing and heating contractor, trades person or business owner who is looking to work with a small business consultant.”

“I have been working with Kevin for almost three years now. He has really helped me improve my business,” says Dr. Paula. Since working together Kevin has improved the practice’s sales process, implemented a consistent marketing program and lowered overhead. Paula further shares, “I now better manage my business and practice’s finances. Cash flow is no longer an issue and neither are new patients. If you are looking for a chiropractic business consultant or business coach Kevin is your man.”

Keith came to Paradigm Strategies as a result of the 2008 recession. Says Keith, “During the winter of ’08/’09 my business significantly slowed. After some tinkering on my own, and getting no results, I decided to reach out to a professional. Kevin came highly recommended within the remodeling community.” Kevin analyzed Keith’s remodeling business and then created a turn-around business plan for the coming year. “As a result of the business plan, and Kevin’s business coaching, company sales and margins had really increased, cash flow was much better and I was hiring once again. I have been working with Kevin since ’08. He has great business insight and advice and is an invaluable business asset to any small business owner,” shares Keith.

“Kevin taught me how to delegate more and manage my time better,” says Paul. “Once we put out some fires, he got me focused on being more proactive and planning for the future. He helped me with running my business more efficiently.”

Kevin took Paul through a business planning process to set precise goals and implement a marketing program that included optimizing the store’s Website and advertising online. As a result, Paul expanded his family’s store to three times its original size.

“I measure my success by the free time and less stress I have now,” says Paul. “Kevin provides good advice, but he also listens. I can bounce ideas off him and he’ll look at them analytically and point out the pros and cons. I’ve found Kevin to be smarter than other business consultants I’ve worked with.”

“Kevin and I have been working together since 2003, ” says Dan. Due to strong business growth, Dan was looking for a business coach who could help keep him on track. Kevin created a growth plan and then Dan and Kevin met regularly to assure its success. Today this plan has been through many revisions but has continued to produce great results. Shares Dan, “Our regular business coaching sessions keep me focused. They have improved my business as well as my management abilities. Because of this I regularly recommend Kevin to fellow financial planners, as well as small business owners, who are looking to dramatically improve their business and their business management abilities.”

Kevin worked with Gary to devise a formula for determining how much to charge per hour for each of his workers, and he helped him with estimating jobs more accurately. “Since my estimating software does not calculate hourly work, Kevin showed me how to maximize and make the best use of it,” says Gary.

Kevin also provided support with hiring by supplying Gary with detailed job descriptions, and he urged Gary to create and use a schedule for his workers, both of which relieved Gary’s overall stress with employee management.

“I worked with a coach before, but he was too general and did not know about the construction business,” says Gary. “Even though I have a degree myself in management and finance, I knew I needed a business consultant, but it had to be someone who understands the issues I’m having and with whom I can bounce off ideas.”

“Working with Kevin has been very good for my business,” continues Gary. “I feel like I have a partner in my company now. If I’m unsure of anything, I can go to him and he’s always accommodating. He is someone I can discuss issues with because they are issues he understands and has solutions for.

On the recommendation of his CPA, Ed hired Paradigm Strategies. Immediately, Kevin developed a business plan that helped Ed get organized and established structure for his company for both the present and the future. “Kevin advised me to focus my business more on kitchen cabinet refinishing and commercial jobs because they offer a greater profit margin and are less time-intensive,” Ed says. Kitchen cabinet refinishing has now become about 55% of Ed’s business.

Only a few months after he began working with Kevin, Ed says “things started falling into place. I got a better handle on my cash flow by implementing things such as a time card system that tracks time spent on individual and specific types of projects. Now I know the exact amount of labor spent on a job so I can charge appropriately.”

“Kevin’s been invaluable to my business and an incredible resource for me. He knows exactly what you need to do,” Ed concludes. “I’d tell anyone, ‘you gotta talk to this guy.’”

“At the time I contacted Paradigm Strategies, I did not have a professional business plan in place. Kevin then proceeded to set up a plan for me that was practical and effective for my company. The plan was easy to follow and well-organized. ”

“Kevin is a true professional and I thank him for the hard work he put in to creating my business plan. My business now operates more efficiently and I have more free time to be even more successful and proactive for my customers. I would recommend Kevin and Paradigm Strategies for any small business that is starting out.”

“Kevin got us focused on what was a priority and what needed to be done,” says Wayne. “He helped with selecting software so we could go to completely paper-less systems. He became someone we had to answer to, encouraging us to be disciplined and getting us committed to doing our homework for the weekly calls. If something isn’t working, he wants to know why.”

“I’ve worked with other consultants before and the experience was not favorable,” says Wayne. “They would tell you what to do and walk away, not help put those things into action. But Kevin works with us on getting things done. He cares that we do the things we need to do to become successful.”