By Cheryl Powers

A Success Story from the Trenches: Breedlove & Associates' Journey

Imagine beginning a small payroll business from your home office, self-funding its growth, and then, two decades later, selling it for an astonishing six times the revenue. This is not a Silicon Valley fairy tale but the real success story of Stephanie Breedlove and her company, Breedlove & Associates. Starting in 1992, Breedlove grew her company by an average of 20% annually, focusing on a niche...

By Cheryl Powers

Imagine your mid-market business, once a mere contender in your competitive industry, evolving into a dominant force with unparalleled market value. Your remarkable ascent won't be by sheer luck or a one-time market anomaly. Instead, the deliberate and strategic enhancement of customer capital will have propelled your transformation. Such a scenario is not a rarity; it demonstrates how astutely managed customer capital can drive substantial business growth, increased...

By Cheryl Powers

As a business growth advisor specializing in SMBs and mid-market companies, I've observed a common challenge among ambitious owners and founders: scaling their businesses while reducing their personal dependency. A compelling example of this is Jaclyn Johnson's journey with Create & Cultivate.

Unpacking the Founder's Challenge: The Story of Create & Cultivate

In 2012, Jaclyn Johnson embarked on an entrepreneurial venture, launching Create & Cultivate, a media...

By Cheryl Powers

In today’s competitive talent landscape, attracting, finding, selecting, hiring and onboarding top managers for your company is tougher than ever before. This isn't just by chance; it's due to several reasons that small and mid-market business owners often miss or don't give enough importance to.

Knowing these challenges is key to solving them.

Let's explore why it's hard to hire great management talent:

Why Business Owners Struggle to Hire Top Management Talent

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By Cheryl Powers

As Thanksgiving approaches, it's a time for reflection and gratitude, not just in our personal lives but in our businesses, too. This season offers a unique opportunity for business owners and founders to cultivate a thriving environment that adds value to their leadership, employees, and customers. Here's how you can harvest success this Thanksgiving and create a business that’s valuable on all fronts.

Cultivating an Engaged Workforce

An engaged workforce is the...

By Cheryl Powers

In a constantly evolving global economy, business owners often find themselves on a rollercoaster of highs and lows.

And let's be real: riding that coaster isn't always fun, is it?

Just as sailors must skillfully navigate stormy seas, business owners need to cross the unpredictable waves of economic turbulence.

But here's the silver lining: economic volatility isn't simply a challenge—it's an opportunity.

I often find myself remembering, the most breathtaking views...

 By Cheryl Powers

If you’re like many of our business owner clients, your company is not just a source of income; it's your largest and most significant asset. Often, the value of your business comprises the lion's share of your personal net worth. 

Personal net worth represents the difference between an individual's assets and liabilities. For business owners, the equity value of their business often makes up a significant portion of these assets. However, it's not uncommon...