Blog

If you watch or read about current economic news and trends, there is talk about a looming recession. In general terms, a recession is defined as a significant decline in economic activity, typically lasting for several months. While the global economy has been recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, there are ongoing concerns contributing to the predictions of a recession. Regardless of whether or not these predictions prove true, with the right mindset, business owners and executives can overcome the challenges of a potential recession. In fact, the right mindset and strategy can create opportunities and a competitive advantage when the going gets tough. But before getting into a mindset discussion, let’s take a look at what is driving these predictions.

In this quick Byte, I ask 3 rhetorical questions to help you hone in on particular aspects of your business’s current outlook. 

If you can’t answer them, or don’t like the answers you’ve given, reach out to me today to see how I can help you in your business, beginning with a complimentary Scaling Up Assessment.

As we enter the holiday season and another new year is on the horizon, is your business ready for 2023? Said differently, what will you do to make 2023 the best year yet for your organization? Or will 2023 be the same as 2022 and previous years? The status quo does not have to be your reality, nor should it be. As a  Scaling Up coach, I know the possibilities of taking your business to new heights. It really comes down to defining those priorities and goals and addressing the pain points that are holding you back from reaching them.

At the end of 2023, what would you think if you accomplished the following:

•         Significantly increased revenu

Do you work on your business or in your business?

There’s an adage amongst entrepreneurs that business owners should work on their businesses, not in them. That’s the difference between one little letter and one little preposition. This phrase was coined and popularized in the 1986 book E-Myth: Why Most Businesses Don’t Work and What

When meeting with potential clients, I inevitably ask, Do you remember why you started your business? The answer usually contains the themes of making more money and having the freedom to make all decisions. In other words, being the boss and reaping the financial rewards.

My next question is, Are you experiencing what you envisioned? The themes of the answer to this question are quite different. For example, business owners often feel lonely at the top of the business. They are stuck working IN the business and not ON the business. They are frustrated and angry that they cannot trust others or that employees don’t seem to care about the company’s success. And this frustration enters all aspects of their lives. Their spouse is tired of the complaints

Steve Ferman, President of 4 Pillar Coach, was recently a guest on the Jonathan Rivera Results Leader.FM Podcast. In this episode, Ferman discusses how to coach a business’s team members to success and how an organization’s Core Values can drive success.

To listen to the complete podcast, please click here.

4 Pillar Coach works with business leaders, helping them to successfully grow their companies by focusing on four critical areas: people, strategy, execution, and cash. Founded by Verne Harnish, author of Scaling Up, Scaling Up Coaches boasts of more

The pandemic, supply chain issues, the Great Resignation, huge inflation, and rising interest rates are all hot topics – and not in a great way. From these events, the business term “pivot” saw a resurrection. As a business coach, I say pivoting is no way to run a business.  Obviously, changing course and adapting is sometimes a business necessity but that type of pivoting is not a good long-term strategy. Rather, and in light of these recent developments, now is the time to make a plan that will allow your business to outperform your competition and thrive – and not simply survive. This is what my upcoming workshop is all about. On June 24, I will be hosting Prohibit

Steve Ferman, President of 4 Pillar Coach, was recently interviewed by Go Solo where he discusses his background and how he helps businesses reach their goals using the Scaling Up Process.

Go Solo is a series of stories about entrepreneurs published by Subkit. Subkit helps regular everyday people to start their own profitable business ventures. Starting with concept ideation, through to sustainable growth, Subkit is the one-stop-shop for solopreneurs looking to expand their knowledge and learn how to build, run and grow a business.

4 Pillar Coach works with business l

On June 24 from 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m., Steve Ferman, President of 4 Pillar Coach, is presenting a workshop for business owners and key executives.

Starting with the pandemic, businesses faced unprecedented challenges which gave prominence to the term “pivot.” Then came along the Great Resignation, supply chain issues, and now rising inflation and interest rates – more pivoting for some. The 4 Pillar workshop, Prohibit the Pivot, will uncover the trends impacting your business and industry, discuss your company’s strengths and core competencies, and weaknesses - then take that information and formulate an actionable plan that will be the basis for future growth no matter what life throws at you next.

Ferman says, “As a business coach, I

When speaking to clients and other colleagues, one thing is abundantly clear. Most people hate meetings and wish management meetings were more effective. In researching reasons for such disdain, I discovered these top complaints:

•         Too many
•       &n

When you look for a lawyer, accountant, or doctor, what is your first step? Do you ask friends or family? Do you do a Google search? How do you know if they are experts in the issues or attention you need? If you need an attorney to prepare business documents for your company, you surely don’t want to meet with a patent lawyer.

Similarly, you don’t need a forensic accountant if you have a tax issue. If you are looking for a podiatrist, a reference to a pediatrician is meaningless. The same holds true for business coaches. Doctors, lawyers, and business coaches have something in common – they all have a unique area of expertise and a personal style of delivering their services.

That’s where man

Sorry for the cheesy title, but I always have a flashback to a particular Seinfeld episode when I think of mentoring. Anyway, I digress. While many people and publications will state the importance of mentoring, not many clearly define it or tell you how to get started. I will.

As a mentee, be prepared for brutally honest, transparent conversations with mentors. Sugarcoating the realities of life won’t benefit anyone. That approach might hurt the mentee’s feelings at the time. But when a self-aware person looks back at the blunt advice, they appreciate the honesty.

What do you need to do before reaching out to potential men

Did you ever look at a competitor and think to yourself, why can’t our business be more like theirs? Or, on the other hand, that company is really good, but we are still beating the pants off of them. Or do you not even think about such things? If not, you should think about it. But not should you only think about it, you should actually do a competitive analysis. While the definition of a competitive analysis seems self-explanatory, entrepreneur.com clearly and concisely sums it up: Identifying your competitors and evaluating their strategies to determine their strengths and weaknesses relative to those of your own product or service. Still skeptical of the benefit

As a business owner, you are wrapped up in the day-to-day details of running your business. Depending on the size and structure of the company, you may be the chief cook and bottle washer. And we all know what this means, you do too many tasks and have too many worries. You worry about revenue, supply chain problems, customers, employees, and a host of other important issues. And throughout all the work and worry, you probably, on some level, neglect your own needs, goals, and ambitions. You just don’t have the time. 

As a coach, I can assure you that you are not alone. Therefore, one of the first things I do with clients is work with them on a One-Page Personal Plan (OPPP). Basically, the purpose of the OPPP is to ensure that you do not forget about yourself and what

Let’s talk about setting goals.

I know, it’s the new year, we’ve all got our goals.

What if I could teach you a way to actually *achieve* your goals?

It’s really not that hard. Instead of simply stating your resolution or goal without a plan of action to actually achieve it, why don’t you take a look at your goal and set it with a timeline - 1 year, 3-5 years, 10 years.

Make it pretty big, hairy, and audacious. Why not make a BHAG?

Try and look at it as this is the goal you are trying to achieve, with the mindset that you need to do certain things to get to that goal in order to achieve it.

For instance, if I have a 10-year BHAG of making $50 million a year, I probably want to look at where I should be in 5 years and what should be going on, wha

As a Scaling Up coach, obviously I think that the investment is worth it. However, it is important to know the costs and benefits of working with a Scaling Up coach. Because at the end of the day, the business owner must believe in its value.

The Scaling Up methodology is based upon the Rockefeller Habits.  Basically, these habits have helped more than 80,000 companies reach and surpass their business goals. In other words, the utilization of a Scaling Up coach is a proven, holistic, and industry agnostic method for scaling your business by 10x or more.

You may be thinking, we have gotten this far without a coach so why hire one. Well, the first thing is that an outside professional can see things that you cannot. A coach gets to know you and every f

In December, Steve Ferman kicked off his first session of the quarterly 4 Pillar Coach Living Legacy workshop series. It was attended by a great group of businesspeople with a lot of interaction who brought great insight.

This may seem like a daunting or perhaps a ridiculous question. More often than not, the answer is shrugged off or completely ignored by business owners. Why? Because you are too busy running your business and being bogged down in the day-to-day minutia.  You are working in your business not on it.

I suggest thinking about it a little differently. After all, all your hard work and success should count for something. Therefore, I think the creation of your legacy, that point on the horizon, should be a meaningful goal. In

Growth sucks cash. It’s the first law of entrepreneurial gravity. You may get by with subpar people, strategy, or execution, but you won’t last a day without cash.

• Do you have consistent sources of cash?
• Are you generating it internally?

Knowing the answers to these questions is the first step of your growth journey! If you don’t know the answers, I will work with you to find them.

Great companies have 3-10x more cash than their competitors. Cash reserves allow companies to weather economic storms and survive the expensive experiments that go into any growth process.

We will work together to figure out how many days it takes for cash to cycle through your entire business model and b

The foundation of a successful business scaling strategy is figuring out your company’s competitive advantage. While it can take a bit of work before you find it, I’ll be working with you. It’s usually invisible to customers, and it addresses a huge established choke point in your industry.

Identifying your advantage is something your competitor can’t do or won’t do without great effort or expense. It can take years before you develop it because it would provide little to no competitive advantage if it could be done cheaply, easily, or quickly. However, once you find it, it can be the basis for the vision of your entire organization and your superpower.

Figuring out your differentiators and eventu

I previously wrote a blog discussing the Four Pillars necessary for businesses to succeed and grow. This blog focuses on one of those essential decisions – People Decisions. After all, organizations are built and run by people. Before worrying about having the best product or service, you need to make sure you have the right people for the job. When you have the right people in the right roles doing the right thing, execution is 80-90% solved.

When assessing

Every year millions of people start new ventures. Of those that survive, only 4% ever reach more than $1 million in revenue. To get to these heights and beyond, your company must consistently make the right decisions around the four pillars of its business. For the last two decades, this coaching method has helped more than 70,000 high-growth businesses scale these heights with a proven, 100% holistic solution. This blog is an introduction to the Four Pillar Coach system. So, are you ready to scale your business? Are you prepared to take your business from a small handful of employees and grow it into an industry-dominating powerhouse?

Hello! 

I’m the founder of 4 Pillar Coach - where I work with business leaders who want to scale their company but are too busy working in the business instead of on the business. Before this, I built, bought, and sold 7 technology companies. 

The Marathon is about business leaders coming together to support each other, strategize, and scale their businesses. 

Check out my YouTube channel and Blog - both are filled with resources to take your business to the next level.  

Things I like:

In my work as a Fractional Chief Information Officer, I find myself also coaching my clients on a host of issues.

As a VCIO, I oversee a company’s IT platform, infrastructure, security, processes, and strategy, and budgeting.

Likewise, I make sure that the company’s leaders use technology to accomplish business goals while maximizing productivity and profits. And I hold IT outside vendors and internal personnel accountable.

Through these tasks and my interactions with a company’s leaders, I do much more.

Combined with my almost 40 years as a business owner, I find myself in many conversations about other business issue