We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Susan Frew a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Susan , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about the best advice you’ve ever given to a client?
Success Story from a coaching client.
WINDOW COMPANY: Took an owner-dependent high-end custom window dealer to increase sales by $500K in one year and increase profits by 11% resulting in $560,000 net revenue. We evaluated each position in the company and realized that there were many employees that were not suited for their current position. We developed a budget, marketing goals, sales targets, closing ratio goals, and average sale metrics. We then recreated the entire branding catalog and implemented a new website, brochures folders and business cards. All of these items better prepared the sales team to close on the same day and avoid clients that became “shoppers”. After careful testing and measuring, we found that the larger home and garden shows in their community were their best leads and would help them through the entire winter season. We amped up the booth and did extensive training with the team that would work at the shows to maximize their investment and captures the most amount of leads.
We discovered that the owner’s strength (and passion) was sales. We hired a qualified operations manager allowing the owner to sell, do follow up, manage and grow the sales team. Last year they won “Dealer of the Year” from their vendor for their outstanding performance in all areas.
Susan , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I launched my corporate career with ADP and Paychex in NJ and NYC. When I joined AT&T Wireless in NYC, I quickly rose up the ranks, earning 11 promotions in just seven years. When I left AT&T in 2007, I had completed my most important assignment as International GM of two countries. I achieved my goal of becoming the youngest International GM in AT&T’s history. I supervised over 100 employees overseeing design, building, sales, finance, marketing, engineering, and construction.
I currently CEO of Sunshine Home Services, former Instructor for the SBA’s national Emerging Leaders program, and radio host of “Coaching Not Just for Sports” on ESPN radio in Denver.
I am a successful TEDX speaker and took the stage to talk about the workforce shortage and the lack of women in the trades. I has been the president of Colorado Plumbing Heating Cooling Contractors, Zone director of national PHCC, and 15 other non-profit boards. I am the founder of Thriftinista, a non-profit raising funds to support local charities.
My vulnerability and refreshing honesty set me apart as I am willing to share my mistakes and trials to help my audiences find their way to success and overcome adversity. I coached 18 different types of trades and 1000’s of employees.
This is where my passion lies, being able to help business owners and entrepreneurs across all industries build better, stronger companies. “Even if you’re not ready to sell your business needs to be built to sell.” This is the philosophy of the Value Builder System(TM), a trusted program that I am and Raincatcher use to help guide our clients to whatever success looks like to us.
The key point to note there is that what success will look and feel like is different for everyone. Raincatcher takes that seriously and always works to ensure our clients are heard and valued, we work diligently to prepare them at all steps along their journey. Whether that is if they are working in our coaching division or with our brokerage team.
I am the Director of Business growth at Raincatcher, where I helps business owners understand the value of their business and gives them a solid coaching plan for maximum sale value.
I delivered 75+ talks each year to women, corporate, telecom, automotive, trades and construction audiences.
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A little bit about Raincatcher:
Raincatcher is a national business brokerage that specializes in small and mid-market businesses. Our mission is to help entrepreneurs buy and sell remarkable companies.
We believe small business is the heartbeat of America, and every small business owner deserves a chance at the American Dream. We aim to inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs in search of that dream.
Our approach is different from the average business brokerage. We pride ourselves on servicing our clients with empathy and compassion, prioritizing their success, as we partner alongside them on their journeys.
Our team is made up of accomplished small business owners who have experienced the challenges that small to mid-sized private companies face. This experience enables us to guide our clients with firsthand experience through all phases of the business selling and buying processes.
Simply put, we care. We care about your business, and we will work hard to help you understand its value throughout your exit planning journey.
Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?
– Built to Sell by John Warrillow – Compete on Awesome by Susan Frew
– Profit First by Mike Michalowicz
– The Art of Selling Your Business by John Warrillow
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
I share this story in my Leading Through the Rain presentation. It’s about learning from mistakes and having to practice what you preach.
We almost lost our multi-million dollar HVAC company due to a bad hire. We ended up with 485k in back taxes and 209k in fines.
A shockingly high percentage of businesses affected by employee theft…75%.!! And on top of that, almost 58% of employees admit to stealing in some way after leaving a previous job.
As a business owner, it is imperative to protect yourself in any way, so you don’t face losing everything because of oversight.
The Big Things to Remember:
– Get humble fast
– Allow yourself to be vulnerable (and cautious)
– Have a clear goal to get through this obstacle
– Be willing to try something new
The first step in leading your team through the “Rain” is to own your mistakes, admit them, make a plan, and MOVE ON!” You will have to ask yourself: what am I shooting for? More financial success? Turnaround? Sale? Once those are answered, and that path is established, you can build toward that goal.
As a business coach and someone who had all this knowledge, I still made mistakes that put my company and all of our other employees at risk. But once I could problem-solve and lean on my expertise and resources, things turned around! The Value Builder System(TM) was a huge part of that!
In the Value Builder program, the ultimate test of your business’ success can be found in a simple question: Would someone want to buy your company? And if so, why?
You might not be ready to sell your company, but your company needs to be built to sell. Working with that mindset is a great way to ensure your long-term business success and growth.
The VB program and Rainatcher guide our clients towards
– Focusing on Profitability
– Maximizing Your Marketing Efforts
– Organizing Your Daily Operations
– Managing Cash Flow
These steps helped me save my own company and successfully get out of 1,000,000 in debt in 18 months.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://raincatcher.com/preparing-your-business-for-sale
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/raincatcherllc/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/susanfrewspeaks
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susanfrewspeaks/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/RaincatcherLLC
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/raincatcherllc
- Other: https://www.susanfrewspeaks.com/