A management company for owner-operated businesses
The owner stays in the craft. Garrett works on the business alongside.
Owners are the experts in their craft, whether that's a trade, a service or the shop floor. That's where they should stay.
Garrett works alongside the owner on the business work there's no time for: the plan, the cash, the people and getting found. It starts with Listen First: before anything changes, he learns what each person around the business gives and expects, and finds the opportunities to bring that into balance.
- Starts with Listen First
- In person, Austin to San Antonio
The Bastiat Principle
Every business is a set of exchanges.
Everyone who deals with a business gives something and expects something back. They keep giving only while the exchange holds. SLS calls this the Bastiat Principle. It is built on Frédéric Bastiat's idea in Economic Harmonies (1850) that "services are exchanged for services."
Owners and investors
Give capital. Expect a return on that capital.
Employees
Give productive time. Expect pay and benefits.
Suppliers and contractors
Give goods and services. Expect the agreed price, paid on time.
Customers
Give money. Expect the product or service they paid for, as promised.
When one of those exchanges falls out of balance, SLS calls it an Exchange Gap. A gap that starts in one exchange often shows up in another, so SLS starts by listening to every side, not by choosing a tool.
Sound familiar?
The owner is the best worker in the building. That is where the opportunity starts.
- Behind the counter, at the tools or on the shop floor all day, and the business only grows when the owner does.
- Customers ask for the owner, so the rest of the team never gets the chance to be developed or promoted.
- Cash runs week to week. Payroll Friday decides which bills wait.
- Good reviews sit unanswered, the business is hard to find, and customer requests come in through too many places.
- Pay, roles and expectations live in the owner's head, not on paper.
- There is a growth plan and no hours left in the week to build it.
Working harder will not fix it. The business needs someone working on it alongside the owner.
What Garrett does
The owner stays in the craft. Garrett works on the business alongside.
The owner's ideas plus the SLS strategy, worked on together. Garrett never takes over the craft. He takes on the business work the owner has no hours for, and does it, not just advises on it.
A written plan
One goal that matters, measured from the business's own numbers, with a weekly rhythm to hit it.
Cash under control
The real numbers in one place, a weekly cash habit, bills timed to deposits, and break-even the owner can see.
A team that can carry more
Clear roles, a fair pay model, one-on-ones and training, so the business stops depending on one person.
Easy to find and reach
Easy to find, reviews answered, a website that works, and one clear way for every customer to reach the business.
Gemba and time-based leadership
Going to where the work happens to see it firsthand, and short check-ins at the right rhythm for each level. Other tools only where they fit the business.
A partner for the big moves
When it is time to grow, such as a new location or a new line of work, Garrett plans and builds it alongside the owner.
The steps
Each step is proof, not a pitch
Garrett listens before changing anything. The owner stays the expert. And nothing becomes permanent unless the owner chooses it.
- Listen FirstGoal and cost of the first project agreed together, up front
- Prove ItWork toward one goal together
- Listen First againStarts while results are still coming in
- Next Prove Itor a partnership talk
The cycle repeats
Listen First
Listen before changing anything
Before anything changes, Garrett learns what the customers, the owner, the employees and the suppliers each give and expect. He looks for the opportunities to bring those exchanges into balance. Then, with the owner, he picks the first things to work on and they set one measurable goal together. The goal and the cost of the first project are agreed together, up front. Sometimes that alone is enough to reignite an owner's belief in a long-term vision he had almost given up on.
Prove It
Work toward one goal, together
The owner and Garrett try the servant leadership approach in the business and work toward the agreed goal. The result and how the two of them work together are tested at the same time. SLS does not just advise. It puts the work in place and runs it with the owner. While Prove It is still running and results are coming in, the next Listen First begins, so the work runs as a repeating cycle. Every week the owner gets a short plain-English report, signed by Garrett.
Build It
The owner chooses what comes next
If the goal is reached and the two work well together, the owner can choose to make it permanent. In Build It, SLS, the company, earns a share of the business through the work it does to build it. Nothing becomes permanent unless the owner chooses it.
Steward It
Partners as the business grows
Under a management agreement, the owner runs the business and SLS stays on as a partner for the strategic planning as it grows.
Why a management company
A management company, not a hired gun
Servant Leadership Strategies, Inc. is a management company. Every relationship starts with Listen First and Prove It. If the owner chooses, it becomes a partnership: under a management agreement, SLS earns a share of the business and keeps doing the strategic planning, while the owner runs the business.
So SLS only does well when the owner does well.
A good fit
Who SLS works with
- An owner-operator with a strong reputation and loyal customers.
- Problems that come from too little time, not too little skill.
- A business that could be much more than it is today.
- An owner with a growth vision and a gap Garrett can fill.
- An owner who wants to learn the strategy, not just hand off problems.
Questions
Garrett asks for the owner's time
To learn a business, Garrett needs time with the owner, and he knows what that time is worth. He asks for it so he can listen first, and he thanks every owner who gives it.
What is Garrett asking for?
The chance to listen. It starts with Listen First. Before anything changes, Garrett learns what the business's customers, owner, employees and suppliers each give and expect. Then he and the owner agree on one measurable goal.
What happens after Prove It?
That is the owner's choice. Prove It tests two things at once: the agreed goal, and how the owner and Garrett work together. If both hold up, the owner can choose Build It: a partnership under a management agreement, in which SLS, the company, earns a share of the business through the work it does. Nothing becomes permanent unless the owner chooses it.
What kinds of businesses?
Owner-operated businesses where the owner is still doing the work all day: trades, service shops, fabrication and manufacturing, home services, repair, family businesses and similar.
Where does Garrett work?
In person across Central Texas: Austin, San Marcos, New Braunfels, San Antonio, Canyon Lake, Boerne and the Hill Country. First calls can be by phone or video.
It starts with Listen First.
Garrett listens first, finds the opportunities, and starts on the first ones with the owner. Phone, video or in person anywhere from Austin to San Antonio and the Hill Country.