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{\b\fs48 Episode 1555: Interview with Steward Ervin About Getting Unstuck in Business\b0}

{\pard \line \par}

{\b\cf1 Scott Maderer:\b0}

{ }

{\cf2 [00:00:00]}

{ Thanks for joining us on episode 1,555 of the Inspired Stewardship Podcast. }

{\pard \line \par}

{\b\cf3 Stewart Ervin:\b0}

{ I'm Stewart Ervin. I challenge you to invest in yourself, invest in others, develop your influence and impact the world by using your time, your talent, and your treasure to live out your calling. Having the ability to recognize that failure isn't final is key, and one way to be inspired to do that is to listen to this The Inspired Stewardship Podcast with my friend Scott Maderer.}

{\pard \line \par}

{I have one client who has a goal to give away a million dollars a year, and so when we do our annual planning, obviously he's not in a position to do that today, but we're starting to build that. And so we've got a eight year plan to say, in eight years, we want our business to be this level from a revenue standpoint, to produce this amount of profit to better give $1 million away.}

{\pard \line \par}

{\b\cf1 Scott Maderer:\b0}

{ Welcome and thank you for joining us on the }

{\cf2 [00:01:00]}

{ Inspired Stewardship Podcast. If you truly desire to become the person who God wants you to be, then you must learn to use your time, your talent, and your treasures for your true calling. In the inspired Stewardship podcast, you will learn to invest in yourself.}

{\pard \line \par}

{Invest in others and develop your influence so that you can impact the world.}

{\pard \line \par}

{In today's podcast episode, I interview Stewart Ervin. I asked Stuart how you can get unstuck as a business owner. Stewart also shares with you how important communication is to business, and Stuart also talks about how you, your calling and your business all need to align with your money. I have a great book that's been out for a while now called Inspired Living.}

{\pard \line \par}

{Assemble the puzzle of your calling by mastering your time, your talent, and your treasures. You can find out more }

{\cf2 [00:02:00]}

{ about that book over@inspiredlivingbook.com. It'll take you to a page where there's information and you can sign up to get some mailings about it, as well as purchase a copy there. I'd love to see you get a copy and share with me how it impacted your world.}

{\pard \line \par}

{Stuart Irvin, the driving force behind Bracket Management, a premier fractional CFO company. Stewart is a seasoned expert in the manufacturing industry with an impressive track record of helping businesses optimize their financial performance and strategic planning. Stewart's unique approach blends proven corporate results with a deep understanding of the challenges faced by many small businesses at Bracket Management.}

{\pard \line \par}

{Stewart and his team provide invaluable services that help businesses achieve clean financials, efficient operations as strategic direction. Their clients see remarkable results. Welcome to the show, Stuart. }

{\pard \line \par}

{\b\cf3 Stewart Ervin:\b0}

{ Thanks Scott. Appreciate you having me. }

{\pard \line \par}

{\b\cf1 Scott Maderer:\b0}

{ Absolutely. It's great to have you. So I talked a little }

{\cf2 [00:03:00]}

{ bit in the intro about some of the work you do over at Bracket Management.}

{\pard \line \par}

{And how you've gotten there. But I also know that intros and bios and those sorts of things are like the Instagram photos. They just show the highlight reel. They don't show the whole story. Yeah. So take us back in time a little bit and talk about your journey and what brought you to the point where this is the work that you're doing.}

{\pard \line \par}

{\b\cf3 Stewart Ervin:\b0}

{ It's really wild. So I've really known ever since I was super young, 13, 14 years old that I wanted to go into business. I just didn't necessarily know what routes, but it was entrepreneurship, corporate, small business, so on and so forth. So my dad started his business when I was roughly around 14, and I started working in that business at that time, and he made me start at the very bottom and work my way all the way to the top.}

{\pard \line \par}

{Now I had no clue. How that would play into things. When I was in my late, the mid th late twenties, mid thirties, but it really built to where I am today. So I learned every aspect of the business. And so in my early twenties, the late twenties, really, }

{\cf2 [00:04:00]}

{ I was focused on, I tried everything.}

{\pard \line \par}

{I went corporate, I went entrepreneurship. And I really was somewhat struggling to still trying to figure that out. But from a financial aspect. The corporate route was where I had to go, so I had a failed business. And again, all of this was just learning and puzzle pieces that were being put together.}

{\pard \line \par}

{So I, in 2010, I went back into corporate America per se, and my job at that point was supply chain. And so I knew enough about operations and supply chain and so forth that. I was the guy that was sent out to turn these cus these suppliers around if they weren't supporting the program. And so I'd had to go in blindly and say, okay, something's going on.}

{\pard \line \par}

{Your on time. Delivery's not supporting where we're at and I've gotta figure out what's up. I. And so for four years I'd go in these companies and I'd get 'em back on track and I'd get 'em back on track. And it really was things that I learned back when I was in my late teens learning how to do that. So one of the last major companies I turned around from a supplier aspect actually }

{\cf2 [00:05:00]}

{ hired me and said, listen, I really liked what you're doing.}

{\pard \line \par}

{I liked the way you operate. I need to sell my business. And I, my business is really messed up and I need to bring you in and help me get everything, like properly diversified, get my financials in line. I need to step away and sell. 'cause we need to grow it some, and I need you to help me run it. So that was the thing for me.}

{\pard \line \par}

{That was the switch. I went from like really turning around just operations to entire businesses. And so for the last 10 years, I. I'm taking the tools that I learned in my late teens and the experiences I have in my twenties and I've been turning companies around for the last 10 years and it's been so rewarding to do that.}

{\pard \line \par}

{And and I just have a blast. And so again, it was, if I hadn't gone through, I can just remember in my late teens thinking I. I was so impatient. Why am I not getting quicker? And then when my business failed and when I was in my late twenties, I was like why? Now I see, there was a better plan for me.}

{\pard \line \par}

{And it, again, it put me where I am at today. It just was a little bit later in the timeline than I would've preferred. }

{\pard \line \par}

{\b\cf1 Scott Maderer:\b0}

{ But if it had happened earlier, do you think you would've had the skills to }

{\pard \line \par}

{\b\cf3 Stewart Ervin:\b0}

{ }

{\cf2 [00:06:00]}

{ actually do it? Absolutely not. }

{\pard \line \par}

{\b\cf1 Scott Maderer:\b0}

{ Yeah. }

{\pard \line \par}

{\b\cf3 Stewart Ervin:\b0}

{ Absolutely not. Yeah. The reality is the cherry on top really came when in 2019 where I was, I basically landed the largest p and LI.}

{\pard \line \par}

{That I had ever managed, and that's where I really learned a lot of the strategy stuff that I apply today. So again, before 2019, it was fairly operations focused. And 2019 through 20 22, 23 timeframe is where I really put all the strategy stuff in place and really saw what it was like to run a very large origin organization.}

{\pard \line \par}

{But I couldn't have gotten that gig had I not built up to it. }

{\pard \line \par}

{\b\cf1 Scott Maderer:\b0}

{ How, today, when you think about the businesses that you work with you, 'cause it small business covers a lot of ground yeah. From a solopreneur operating outta their, their back bedroom all the way through to, several thousand employees and millions of dollars in revenue.}

{\pard \line \par}

{So when you think about where you focus or where your sweet spot is what does that business look like? }

{\pard \line \par}

{\b\cf3 Stewart Ervin:\b0}

{ For me, my current }

{\cf2 [00:07:00]}

{ clients range anywhere from one to 30 million a year. Actually one of the largest ones we're dealing with now. We're looking at doing a $30 million acquisition, so it'll take us up to 60 million.}

{\pard \line \par}

{So it really ranges. For me, I focus heavily in manufacturing. That's not to say that what we do doesn't, transfer over, but I've got 25 years of manufacturing experience, so it's fairly easy for me to walk into a business and be like. Within a couple hours, just walk through the process.}

{\pard \line \par}

{Okay, here's probably your issue and kind of dive into it. So for me we really focus on one to 30 million is our, kind of our target. Our goal is to get you to 50 million. 'cause at 50 million you probably couldn't hire a full-time fractional CFO. But again, manufacturing sector primarily is what we focus on.}

{\pard \line \par}

{\b\cf1 Scott Maderer:\b0}

{ So one of the things I like to highlight on the show is the intersection of our life journey and what we do with our faith journey and how that's developed us or impacted the choices that we make? Share a little bit about what that's looked like for you. }

{\pard \line \par}

{\b\cf3 Stewart Ervin:\b0}

{ Yeah, so I was born and raised in a Christian home.}

{\pard \line \par}

{Christian parents went to a }

{\cf2 [00:08:00]}

{ Christian school. My whole life I've been active in church my entire life. I really have never, I. Falling out of that. And that's not to say my faith journey hasn't wavered, right? There were times I questioned everything I'd ever been taught, particularly when things were tough and there were really seasons.}

{\pard \line \par}

{And my wife is I'm really worried about where you are mentally and spiritually. And I'm like, yeah, I am too, because my whole life I've believed this. But I think that made me dive deeper into, what I knew and studied and research and just really foundationally, just really reiterated what I felt like as a Christian.}

{\pard \line \par}

{And so for me on the business aspect, again, as the businesses have kind of things I've done is wavered and been struggled. It's been in and out, but throughout the entire process I have seen the Lord's hand in everything I do and. Ashley was reminded of this recently from my second son, and he was like, God's been good to you in your career.}

{\pard \line \par}

{And I was like, yeah, I would agree. Where's this coming from? And so it was really the second company that I was }

{\cf2 [00:09:00]}

{ focused on turning around. Things were not going well, but I was so emotionally committed to that company and I don't remember this, but he reminded me of this and it is in fact true, but I re he reminded me that.}

{\pard \line \par}

{One night I sat down. I said, Lord, I'm never gonna leave this particular company on my own. If you want me to separate from it, you're gonna have to make it happen. 'cause I think I'm too emotionally attached. The very next day I was fired. And if I'm, no lie but that's pretty clear. Yes, I was terminated, so I was floored.}

{\pard \line \par}

{But also I somewhat knew that okay, I had just prayed that. But what it did is I referenced or earlier the role of the largest p and l back in 2019. I brought right out of that job that I had been terminated from and right into the one that really, pretty much changed my professional life. And I had forgotten that. And then as this journey has progressed since 2019, again, my son reminded me of that. And so again I look back, my wife was just }

{\cf2 [00:10:00]}

{ talking about this the other day. She's you always are very clear that you can see God has woven his self into every move. And I can just see how everything has built.}

{\pard \line \par}

{Even when I wasn't necessarily as committed to his path. He was always there. And it's clear when I look backwards, but sometimes in the moment it's not there. But as I've gotten older, I. I recognize, I'm more aware. Okay. And I accept it and I know that this is God's will and God's plan to just stick it out and in the end, it'll work itself out.}

{\pard \line \par}

{\b\cf1 Scott Maderer:\b0}

{ So let's talk a little bit about those businesses that, call you in as a fractional CFO, where you're stepping into 'em. And you talked a little bit about the kind of business you like to work with, but what's the kind of problems or challenges they're facing that might make you a good fit or somebody that can come in and really help turn 'em around?}

{\pard \line \par}

{\b\cf3 Stewart Ervin:\b0}

{ Yeah, pretty much the overarching problem is they have hit a ceiling in their business. In. In many cases, I've actually started going }

{\cf2 [00:11:00]}

{ backwards, right? And so I can tell you time and time again, I had a $20 million company that had gone back to 14. They called me. There's another company that was at 80, they had gone to 60 and they called me.}

{\pard \line \par}

{So that's really the biggest driver I. They've fallen backwards. The, so right in that line is many times these entrepreneurs have hit a ceiling that they don't feel comfortable. They're just like I don't know what else to do. I'm lost and I need someone who's been there and done that to just walk alongside of me.}

{\pard \line \par}

{I have a sales and marketing coach, and he's what you like to realize is you're their safety blanket. You're just there to make 'em feel warm and fuzzy and have someone to talk to. And that's the reality is, they just don't know what else to do. So those really are the two, the biggest areas.}

{\pard \line \par}

{Again, they've grown to a point and fallen backwards and they're starting to freak out and say, okay, I need help. Or they've reached a point and their comfort level is gone and they're like, okay, I need to bring in someone to help me go to the next level. So when you }

{\pard \line \par}

{\b\cf1 Scott Maderer:\b0}

{ think about that, where is that coming from in the business? What's the most common challenges or mistakes or issues that you see that starts people }

{\pard \line \par}

{\b\cf3 Stewart Ervin:\b0}

{ down that road? Yeah, }

{\cf2 [00:12:00]}

{ that's an interesting question. A lot of time that, again, they're small business, A lot of times what has happened is the, the, a lot of these guys I deal with are second generation, but those that are not typically the the founder is the technical expert behind whatever they're doing, right?}

{\pard \line \par}

{They could be, they're the guy who understands how to make this widget better than anybody else. They're the engineering brain that builds these systems, so on and so forth. And typically what happens is they run it for the lack of better terms, a little loose, and mom and poppy, right?}

{\pard \line \par}

{They, just fairly loose. And so there's no forward looking. Strategy. It's just, okay, how much cash do I have in the bank? Okay, I feel comfortable with that. How's my ar? Okay, good. We got money coming in. All right, let's just keep grinding. And they really don't run their business with necessarily any discipline or really intention, and that's just gonna catch up with you at some point.}

{\pard \line \par}

{And so a lot of times what we figure out is I gotta figure out first when they call me in, do you really want to go there? Do you really want to grow to 10, 20, 30 million, or whatever that might be, because it's a whole }

{\cf2 [00:13:00]}

{ different ball game. A whole different set of disciplines. Before this started, you and I were talking about being busy, right?}

{\pard \line \par}

{And so I was just at a client over the past two days who they're going through an audit to, to make them aerospace worthy, to make aerospace parts. And we got to the end of it. The owner looked at me and said, man, I just don't know if it's worth it. And I said, you had a crossroads. You have to make a decision.}

{\pard \line \par}

{Are you gonna do the things it's gonna take to get there? Are you okay with just staying small? And that's the decision you gotta make. So yeah, primarily, and it's not }

{\pard \line \par}

{\b\cf1 Scott Maderer:\b0}

{ that staying small is necessarily bad, it's just no, do you wanna do that }

{\pard \line \par}

{\b\cf3 Stewart Ervin:\b0}

{ or not? Yeah. Because the kick is, if you wanna stay small, you necessarily, you don't need me.}

{\pard \line \par}

{You, you've done well at that, just, you don't need this. And so that's really the biggest driver. It gets to a point where the business overtake. The owner's ability to manage it there, there's no forward looking, there's no strategy, there's no forecasting or any managing with intent.}

{\pard \line \par}

{And then, and that's really the biggest driver. }

{\pard \line \par}

{\b\cf1 Scott Maderer:\b0}

{ And I think so many folks I work a lot with businesses below the level that you're working in terms of revenue, so I've worked with a lot of guys that are. Just }

{\cf2 [00:14:00]}

{ starting they've jumped ship.}

{\pard \line \par}

{They're, they've got their thing starting. They've maybe made, a couple of hundred thousand, 250,000. They're trying to get to a million, and usually at that point it's oh, a million dollars will solve all my problems. And it's no, it really won't. It's gonna change 'em, and, but a lot of times, like you said, they're technical minded. They're, they were good at. Fixing air conditioners or turning a wrench on pipe. And they've seen what happens in the business and they're like I could do that. }

{\pard \line \par}

{\b\cf3 Stewart Ervin:\b0}

{ Yeah. }

{\pard \line \par}

{\b\cf1 Scott Maderer:\b0}

{ And yet there's a whole nother set of skills. And then it, they get to your, like you're saying, going from 30 to 50, it's a whole nother set of skills.}

{\pard \line \par}

{\b\cf3 Stewart Ervin:\b0}

{ Yeah. It's bracket, we actually started bracket in 2010. And as on the side, and we really, what we focused on was probably the same group that you're looking at. We were trying to take those solo guys who were starting and we would say, Hey, let us do the boring stuff. So we would do the marketing, the bookkeeping, all the hr, all the business stuff.}

{\pard \line \par}

{And we would say, you go be the best painter you can be the best party planner, the best whatever. And that's }

{\cf2 [00:15:00]}

{ where the, where bracket started and we kinda ran it part-time for four or five years. Then we shelved it because again, we recognized that it was probably something better to offer. But yeah.}

{\pard \line \par}

{Bracket started with the same group, same clients again. 'cause we recognized that, that I, we had so many people say, I just want to go paint, right? I just wanna go remodel. I don't wanna do all this other crap. And yeah, that's where we really got the idea started. }

{\pard \line \par}

{\b\cf1 Scott Maderer:\b0}

{ And. And again, that's the thing is, if all you wanna do is turn a wrench or paint or whatever, yeah, that's fine.}

{\pard \line \par}

{There's nothing wrong with that, but just realize that there's a cap to that. You're gonna only get to a certain level, and that's as high as you can go because at some point your time is finite. You're, everything else and you're gonna, you're gonna run into that cap. So when you think about the business.}

{\pard \line \par}

{Structure, especially by the time you're getting to, that 30 50 million revenue level and a hundred million and all of that. What role do you see in terms of, for the leaders in really understanding those other skills other than just the business }

{\cf2 [00:16:00]}

{ skills, looking at a p and l, that kind of thing, but the soft skills, the communication, the training, the.}

{\pard \line \par}

{Understanding people kind of side. }

{\pard \line \par}

{\b\cf3 Stewart Ervin:\b0}

{ Yeah, so that's we really have six key things that we look at, and when we go into a business, we really call it the six key plays. The very first play we run is we call it the communication play. And that communication is both internal and external.}

{\pard \line \par}

{And a lot of times these guys, they really don't even think about that. They don't even really think about how are you being perceived in the marketplace. They don't, they, they may have a mission vision, they may really talk about their values, but it's really not broadcasted internally or externally.}

{\pard \line \par}

{So what we go through is we say, Hey. You gotta set this in stone. You gotta have value so your people internally know where you're at. You gotta have a mission and vision so your people externally can know where you're headed and what you're all about. So I, we really drive that because if you're not communicating people's imagination will run wild and people's imaginations are wild.}

{\pard \line \par}

{And so we really focus very right outta the box communication. What does that look like? What does our meeting }

{\cf2 [00:17:00]}

{ cadences look like? What do we talk about in those meetings? Because again, you bring an outsider in people's imaginations are gonna go Wow. Particularly someone like me who's gonna be at the top.}

{\pard \line \par}

{And so that is the very first thing we do. And so we, we focus on that. We, the second play we run is once we kinda get the financials in order, we really focus on. A forecast we and start working on a plan of let's set a target on the financials. And the biggest thing we do is we set a plan, we re-forecast, but what we do is we look and say, how well did we do against that forecast?}

{\pard \line \par}

{And what do we need to do to change it? So in those conversations, I'm training the owner, I'm training the other senior leaders to understand the ins and outs of a p and l and what are the knobs that need to be turned operationally, so on and so forth. Once we kinda get all that in line, and again we talk about it, talked about it a second ago, but we do a monthly business review where all the senior leaders get together.}

{\pard \line \par}

{We understand where are we at with the business and what we need to do to change. Again, now we're reviewing all the financials, we're reviewing the how we, how well are we communicating, and so on and so forth. So you can see }

{\cf2 [00:18:00]}

{ that's woven in everything we do. There's another play that we run is the employee play where there's a job description.}

{\pard \line \par}

{There's a KPI, there's an org chart that's developed, and so everyone knows if I need something, this is who I go talk to. If it's about finance, I talk to this person. Oh, by the way, this is what I'm really supposed to do, and this is what winning looks like. So we're putting all those pieces together.}

{\pard \line \par}

{So again, you have a very well ran machine that's very well communicated. People know where they're going, they know if they're winning or losing, so on and so forth. }

{\pard \line \par}

{\b\cf1 Scott Maderer:\b0}

{ When you think about the financial piece of it all too often I've seen folks that. The focus becomes so much on the bottom line and or the top line.}

{\pard \line \par}

{A lot of times it's a, people only talk about the revenue they make, or they only talk about the profit at the end. They kinda lose track of all the stuff in between the two. What role do you see financials playing and how businesses execute and achieve that bigger mission that they really are after.}

{\pard \line \par}

{\b\cf3 Stewart Ervin:\b0}

{ So I referenced it a second ago. So we set an annual plan and not only do we do an annual plan, we do a }

{\cf2 [00:19:00]}

{ three, five and sometimes a 10 year outlook. And so what I attempt to do when I go into these businesses, I try to find out from the owner, what is it that you really want? What is utopia? Is it that you want to grow this business and go to The Bahamas?}

{\pard \line \par}

{Is it whatever the case would be? I have one client who has a goal to give away a million dollars a year. And so when we do our annual planning. Obviously he's not in a position to do that today, but we're starting to build that. And so we've got a eight year plan to say, in eight years, we want our business to be this level from a revenue standpoint, to produce this amount of profit, to be able to give a million dollars away.}

{\pard \line \par}

{And that's the goal that it plays. And so it's like I, I work with these business owners, I learned what they wanna do personally, so I can help guide them on the financial planning and forge strategic execution to make it happen to me. The numbers tell the story. That's it. And so it's more than a p and l.}

{\pard \line \par}

{It's more than a balance sheet. It's more than a cash flow statement. And so many cases, when I do a month in report to the owners, I am telling them a }

{\cf2 [00:20:00]}

{ story and I'm just basically referencing the PL, but p and l. But if I didn't have that p and l to tell the story, I wouldn't have anything to talk about.}

{\pard \line \par}

{So it is the story for a finance guy to better read that and better communicate that to the owner. }

{\pard \line \par}

{\b\cf1 Scott Maderer:\b0}

{ So I've got a few questions that I like to ask all of my guests, but before I go there and ask those, is there anything else about the work you do with these businesses that you think is really important for the listener to hear?}

{\pard \line \par}

{\b\cf3 Stewart Ervin:\b0}

{ Yeah. Again, a lot of times I get called in when people are in trouble and I won't, I want people to understand that there's always an option. There is always a way. A lot of times you haven't figured it out, but if you can, if you reach out and try to figure out what I need to do, find an expert who can help you before you really just close the doors, it's, there's been times I've walked in and people have just been in a dire situation that within three months you're like, holy my, holy crap. I'm so glad we did this. And so the biggest thing I want people to realize is there probably are other options out there besides you to just do some }

{\cf2 [00:21:00]}

{ research, do your homework and see if there's someone out there who can come in and help you.}

{\pard \line \par}

{Again, with the world today and the fractional movement becoming more and more popular, you can really tap into some very strong resources at a fairly reasonable price to come and help you on a part-time basis. And again, a lot of these guys are very seasoned and they can come in and pretty much make a huge impact fairly quickly at a reasonable price.}

{\pard \line \par}

{So just don't give up. Look for other options. There are guys out there like me who can help and just make it happen. }

{\pard \line \par}

{\b\cf1 Scott Maderer:\b0}

{ So my brand is inspired stewardship, and I run things through that lens of stewardship, and yet I've discovered over the years that's one of those words that means a lot of different things to a lot of different people.}

{\pard \line \par}

{So for you, when you hear the word stewardship, what does that word mean to you? }

{\pard \line \par}

{\b\cf3 Stewart Ervin:\b0}

{ Yeah, I recognize that everything we have really comes from God and we are just really managers of that. And so that's time, money, health, so on and so forth. And just like if you were to borrow anything from anybody else, you would take great care of it, better than you probably would, your own stuff.}

{\pard \line \par}

{And so I }

{\cf2 [00:22:00]}

{ recognize that I'm just a servant to that and that I need to utilize the time, gifts, talents, money, and whatnot that you, that I have as if God has given it to me and I just manage it well. }

{\pard \line \par}

{\b\cf1 Scott Maderer:\b0}

{ So this is my favorite question that I like to ask everybody. Imagine for a moment that I could invent this magic machine.}

{\pard \line \par}

{And with this machine, I was able to take you from where you are today and transport you into the future, maybe 150, maybe 250 years. And through the power of this machine, you were able to look back and see your entire life, see all of the connections, all of the ripples, all of the impacts you've left.}

{\pard \line \par}

{What impact do you hope you've left in the world? }

{\pard \line \par}

{\b\cf3 Stewart Ervin:\b0}

{ So when I rebranded bracket and relaunched it, I said I wanted to be the Dave Ramsey to small businesses. What he, now I know he's got the entree leadership stuff, but what he's done to personal finance and how he's helped. Thousands and thousands of people, become debt free and live a whole different life.}

{\pard \line \par}

{I wanna have that same impact on small businesses, and that's my goal is to help }

{\cf2 [00:23:00]}

{ as many small businesses as I can to reach their full potential and their full benefits and levels that they have desire to. }

{\pard \line \par}

{\b\cf1 Scott Maderer:\b0}

{ So what's on the roadmap? What have you got on the agenda for the rest of the year?}

{\pard \line \par}

{\b\cf3 Stewart Ervin:\b0}

{ Yeah, so we're we're looking at a variety of things. Again, it's bracket, like I said, we've rebranded it, we've been running. I referenced that I have a sales and marketing coach, and so we're changing some things up, trying to, changing our offerings up a little bit to, to be a better service.}

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{We're getting a little more operational focus and so again, my background is finance and operations. And we originally came out heavy in the finance side, but we're looking at building out a business system. 'cause again, we have somewhat of a playbook and it goes a little bit beyond just the finance piece.}

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{And so probably in the next few months you'll see a relaunch of somewhat of a business systems if you can think like the great game of business or entree leadership, or even entrepreneurial operating system. We're just doing some work on that and seeing if that's gonna roll out and make some changes.}

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{\b\cf1 Scott Maderer:\b0}

{ So you can find out more about Stuart Irvin over@bracketmanagement.com and that's management mgmt. Of course, I'll have a link to all of that over in the show notes as well, so you can find it there. Stuart, is there anything else you'd like to share with the listener? }

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{\b\cf3 Stewart Ervin:\b0}

{ The only thing I'd like to share is if you were to go on our website and take a look, we have a business assessment that kinda allows you to see where your business falls, and so we focus on strategy execution.}

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{Financial positioning and operational execution. And it's a smaller assessment. It's about 30 questions, takes you about five minutes, but you get a detailed report back in regards to what are you doing well, areas of improvement. And then again, it allows us to start that dialogue if you need any assistance in your business and can help.}

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{But it's a pretty comprehensive view of where you stand as a business. }

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{\b\cf1 Scott Maderer:\b0}

{ Awesome. I'll put a link to that in the show notes as well, so folks can find it there, and thank you so much. Thank you, Scott.}

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