Training Programs · The Self-Sustaining Business Program
The Self-Sustaining Business
Business coaching for design and construction owners
You're excellent at the work and trapped by the business. A company that stands without you holding it up.
Why working harder doesn't cross it
Most people start a business without any real knowledge of business. You were good at the work, so you went out on your own. Then somewhere in year one to three, you discover there's a chasm between where you are and where you thought you'd be, and that working harder doesn't cross it, because you're already working as hard as it's possible to work.
That chasm is what The Self-Sustaining Business Program is built to cross.
Where are you?
Startup
Lots of time, no work. You're a graduate as a technician and in kindergarten as a business operator. You're not getting paid; you're the business's creditor.
Stressed
Lots of work, no time. Quality depends entirely on you. You wear every hat and you're last to get paid.
Steady
You've built a team to keep up. You're learning to manage and develop people, stressed by the overhead, torn between doing the work yourself to protect quality and leveraging your staff to relieve the pressure. You're finally taking a normal salary.
Self-sustaining
The team runs well on its own. The hats are delegated. Systems and process hold the quality. The valuation grows. You're compensated as a shareholder, not an employee. Almost nobody reaches Stage 4 by accident.
The free Business Scorecard shows where you sit on these four stages.
The promise
The goal of every owner should be to build a business that becomes the goose that lays the golden egg, an asset that produces whether or not you're standing over it. That's what this program builds.
What we build
The same eight components appear in the free Business Scorecard, the Business Health Check, the Exit Readiness Assessment and this program.
Mindset
The awakening. Your company should be able to exist without you.
Vision
Your life's purpose, your values, vision and mission, and a core purpose and focus clear enough to make decisions against.
Marketing
Your uniques, target market, proven process and guarantee; a ten-year target, five-year picture and one-year plan.
People
Hiring against your vision and values; right people, right seats; current and future accountability charts; getting hats off your head.
Finances & Metrics
Running the business on numbers instead of emotion and instinct; margins by job, cash cycle, working capital; a scorecard, meaningful measures, a number owned by every person.
Issues
Solving problems quickly and permanently; weekly to-dos that actually close.
Process
A documented core process for every department; policies that let you step away.
Goals
Yearly, quarterly and weekly goals; the component that produces the results.
How it works
I don't hand you a curriculum and leave. I train each module, then work alongside you and your management team while you implement it in your own business.
- Two weeks per moduleSixteen weeks at a regular pace, or eight weeks if you want to move faster.
- Your first quarterly planning session is includedMost clients keep me coming back every ninety days after that.
Who it's for, and who it's not for
You need enough of a team to delegate to, realistically five or more staff, and enough time in business to have hit the wall. Typically five to ten years in.
This is for you if
- You have enough of a team to delegate to, realistically five or more staff
- You have been in business long enough to have hit the wall, typically five to ten years
- You want a company that stands without you holding it up
This is not for you if
- You have fewer than five staff, or nobody to delegate to yet. A Systems Sprint is a better use of your money, and I'll tell you so
- You are just starting up. A Pick-My-Brain session is the place to begin
- You want it driven for you rather than taught. That is Master Plan, where I own the plan
Three doors, one program
Owners reach this page from different places, and there is one program behind all of them, not three. Find the door that sounds like you.
- GrowingYou want to grow and automate the business so that it runs without you. Start with the free Business Scorecard, which scores the eight components and shows where you sit on the four stages.
- TransitioningYou are stepping back, or handing the business on, and need it to hold up without you. Start with a Business Health Check: a clear, outside read on where the business actually stands, and what to fix first.
- ExitingYou are planning to sell in the next one to five years. Start with the Exit Readiness Assessment, which shows what is suppressing the sale value and what it is worth to fix. The free Exit Readiness Scorecard gives you a first read.
What owners say
Eric is an owner of a number of successful businesses. He is incredibly knowledgeable and supportive. We work together really well, strategizing my business trajectory. I highly recommend working with him if you really want to grow your business.
The content that Eric provides is awesome! His years of experience are extremely valuable and his desire to help other business owners is great. I highly recommend his services.
The investment
The program is $25,000, including your first quarterly planning session.
Start with a Business Health Check. It'll tell us both whether this program is the right next step, and the fee comes off the program if it is.
Book a free consultation
Fit matters more than speed, so this starts with a conversation. Tell Eric a little about the business and he will come back to you personally.
Sent. Eric has it.
A confirmation is on its way to your inbox. Eric reads these himself and replies personally.
Questions owners ask
What is self-sustaining business training?
It is training that equips an owner and their management team to build a business that stands without the owner holding it up. In The Self-Sustaining Business Program that means eight components: Mindset, Vision, Marketing, People, Finances & Metrics, Issues, Process and Goals. Eric trains each one and then works alongside you while you implement it in your own business.
Who is the Self-Sustaining Business Program for?
Owners of design and construction businesses with enough of a team to delegate to, realistically five or more staff, and enough time in business to have hit the wall, typically five to ten years in. If that is not you yet, a Systems Sprint is a better use of your money, and Eric will tell you so.
How long does the program take?
Two weeks per module. That is sixteen weeks at a regular pace, or eight weeks if you want to move faster. Eric does not hand you a curriculum and leave: he trains each module, then works alongside you and your management team while you implement it in your own business. Your first quarterly planning session is included, and most clients keep him coming back every ninety days after that.
What is the program aiming for?
The fourth of the four stages of business ownership, Self-sustaining. The team runs well on its own, the hats are delegated, systems and process hold the quality, the valuation grows, and you are paid as a shareholder, not an employee. Almost nobody gets there by accident, which is why the program builds each of the eight components in your own business.
How much does the Self-Sustaining Business Program cost?
The program is $25,000, and that includes your first quarterly planning session. It starts with a conversation rather than a checkout, so you can talk through whether it fits before you commit.
How is the program different from the Master Plan Program?
The program is a project: it builds the systems that let the business run without you, in eight or sixteen weeks. Master Plan is an ongoing relationship, where Eric owns your plan and works on your business between conversations. If you want it taught and built in your business, that is the program. If you want it driven for you, that is Master Plan. Some owners do both.
Not ready for the program? Start where you are.
The free Business Scorecard takes eight minutes. It scores your business across the eight components and shows where you sit on the four stages.
Eric Lee · Starfish Coaching · 1937 Triumph St, Vancouver BC V5L 1K6
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