READ THIS NEWSLETTER FIRST

I HAVE A CONFESSION TO MAKE

…?I really don’t know what I’m doing.

No, not in terms of systematizing and scaling a professional services business.?There, I know exactly what to do to be successful.?And I’m going to help you learn how to do the same thing – if you’re interested.

No, I’m talking about what I’ve been doing in this new online, content creator marketplace. Especially at my age!

I’ve been going about it all wrong.?Over the last two months, I’ve been targeting everybody, and writing about everything I’m interested in – or I think will be interesting.

Yes, my posts have generated 41,000+ eye-catching views, 1,800+ wonderful followers, 200+ curious subscribers, 400+ likes, 100+ comments, and 20+ shares. (LinkedIn influencer: please don’t laugh!)

However, because of this “shotgun” approach, I don’t think anyone is really being served well. And I’m just not happy with that.

So, starting with this inaugural Founder Coffee Break newsletter, I’m going to focus on Founders, Managing Directors, and Aspiring Professionals of small professional service firms.

And I’m going to write about what I’m truly passionate and knowledgeable about – systematizing and scaling a small professional service business so that it is smooth running, very profitable, and chaos free.

Whether the ownership and management group wish to exit or not, building a systems-dependent, owner-independent business provides them the time and financial freedom to enjoy their lives to the fullest. And if they do wish to sell at some point, it produces a much more valuable and sellable business.

And one day a week, I’m going to share about this new online, content-creator business journey I’m on in case anyone is interested! ??

WHO THIS NEWSLETTER IS FOR

• Founders – Small business owners and founders.
• Managing Directors who are part of the company’s leadership or management team.
• Aspiring Professionals who would like to move up into management or ownership.
• Professional Service Firms – Accounting, advertising, architectural, appraisal, consulting, engineering, financial advisory, financial planning, legal, medical, real estate, etc.
• Small Businesses - $500,000 to $5,000,000.

WHO THIS NEWSLETTER IS NOT FOR

• Technicians – Employees or professionals with no real interest in progressing into management or ownership.
• Middle-Market Businesses – If you’re above $5MM, you probably do not need my help.
• Non-Professional-Service Businesses – We are not going to focus on manufacturing, retail, or wholesale/distribution businesses. We are focusing solely on professional service businesses.

MY BACK STORY

• 20 years in corporate America with Cushman & Wakefield, CBRE, and LoopNet.
• Helped build & sell a LoopNet SaaS division, allowing LoopNet to later sell for $860 million.
• Helped co-found & build Valbridge Property Advisors into a national CRE appraisal organization.
• Scaled my own CRE appraisal services business and sold it for 7 figures all-cash with no earn-out.

MY MISSION

I really struggled as a small business owner. Over the years, I spent over $100,000 on various high-end coaching programs learning how to become a strategic business owner and build a systems-dependent, owner-independent business. Turned out this made the business much more valuable and sellable. (Nobody wants to buy a job or a dysfunctional business in chaos.)

My mission is to help Founders and Managing Directors develop smooth-running, profitable businesses. More importantly, I want to help harried leadership teams learn how to systemize and delegate effectively, freeing up their time and giving them more money so they can live the life of their dreams.

OUR CONTENT CATEGORIES

We have four content categories we’re going to be writing, training, and coaching on:

1. Strategic Leadership – Vision, Culture, Strategic Planning, Organizational Strategy, Leadership Development, and Exit Planning & Strategies.
2. Professional Management – Systems & Systematization, Meeting Rhythms, Performance Management, Automation, and Outsourcing.
3. Business Systematization – System for Building Systems, Master Systems List, Prioritizing Systems to Build, Integrated Software Platforms & Apps, and Permanent Issues Solving.
4. Scaling for Growth – Client Acquisition & Retention, Effective Recruiting & Employee Development, Diversifying Services, Targeting New Markets, and Growth Through Acquisition.

If any of these content areas or related topics are of interest to you, you’re going to get a lot out of following me – The Founder Doctor – on LinkedIn!

OUR OFFERINGS

1. Founder Coffee Break newsletter (sponsorship available)
2. Founder Systems OS e-course (coming Summer 2023)
3. Founder Coaching service (DM if you’re interested)

WEEKLY PUBLISHING SCHEDULE

Just so you know what to expect if you decide to keep subscribing and following me, and to give me better structure for my daily writing, the following is what I’m going to be posting each day of the week:

• Monday thru Thursday we’ll be posting valuable content for our primary audience – Founders, Managing Directors, and Aspiring Professionals – as follows:
• Monday - Area: Strategic Leadership. Focus: It all starts with a Strategic CEO Mindset.
• Tuesday - Area: Professional Management. Focus: You need a Management Team.
• Wednesday - Area: Business Systematizing. Focus: The key is Systematizing.
• Thursday - Area: Scaling for Growth. Focus: This allows you to Scale.
• Friday - Area: Friday Freebies. Focus: 3 Tips each for Audience Members.
• Saturday - Area: Founder Coffee Break newsletter. Focus: Valuable, actionable content you can consume in 5± minutes over your favorite cup of Joe on Saturday mornings.
• Sunday - Area: The Founder Doctor's journey. Focus: I will be sharing what it’s like for a semi-retired, traditional business owner to build a leveraged, solopreneur, content-creator digital business in his 70s. How exciting! ??

5 KEY STEPS TOWARDS FOUNDER SUCCESS

So, before we finish our coffee, I’d like to leave you with 5 key steps that, if focused on over time, will set you up for success – significant increases in income and wealth, and the extra time to enjoy both.

1. Develop a Strategic CEO Mindset – Nothing is as important as experiencing the major life-changing paradigm shift from struggling as The Technician to being set free as The Entrepreneur.
2. Develop an Organizational Strategy – If you are in every box on the org chart and wearing every hat in the business, you need a playbook to move you up in your organization to the CEO role.
3. Systematize Key Processes – This isn’t as difficult as it sounds, but it is critical for hiring, training, and delegating effectively. Everyone wins with a well-oiled, smooth-running business machine.
4. Develop a Growth Strategy – Once you’ve got your A Players in place, operating systematized and automated business processes, you can turn your attention to scaling up for more profits.
5. Exit Planning & Strategies – Most of you are too young to be thinking about a possible exit plan. However, you can never start this important process too early, including business valuations!

Well, that’s a wrap for this inaugural edition of the Founder Coffee Break newsletter.?See you again next Saturday over a cup of your favorite Joe!?Until then…

Happy Business Building!

Calvin Cummings, aka "The Founder Doctor"