Pro Serv Podcast by Collective 54

Episode 113 - How a Regional IT Services Firm is Leveraging a Client Advisory Board

Boutique professional service firms need to listen to their clients intentionally. One effective way to do that is a client advisory board.

In this episode, Collective 54 member Luke Johnson, shares how he launched a client advisory board recently. Luke shares the early benefits, some mistakes to avoid, and how, exactly, he runs his. Listen to this episode, and if you are a member, attend the private member Q&A, and learn how a client advisory board can help you. 

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Episode 112 - How A Consulting Firm is Scaling by Generating Revenue From Multiple Sources

Generating revenue from sources other than the billable hour is a key part of scaling a consulting firm.

In this episode, Collective 54 member, Robin Way, shares how he is generating revenue from training products, licensing tools, and generating reports. Listeners of this episode will hear from Robin how he went from a single source of revenue- the billable hour- to four sources of revenue. Members who participate in the private Q&A with Robin will get to bounce their ideas off of him and get his advice.

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Episode 111 - The Beginner’s Guide to the QOE (Quality of Earnings) Report

Someday you will sell your firm. After all, none of us can run our firms from the afterlife. When your time to exit comes, you will need to know what your firm is worth. The tool often used to calculate a purchase price is called a QOE, or the quality of earnings report.

In this episode, Collective 54 member, and QOE expert, Elliott Holland, helps founders understand what a QOE is, when it is needed, who creates one, how it gets used, and why founders need to get familiar with it. By listening to this episode, you will know what you need to know about the QOE. Members attending the private Q&A with Elliott will get to ask him questions about using a QOE for their firms. 

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Episode 110 - How a Software Development Firm Structured an Equity Incentive for a Key Employee

Hiring, or promoting, a person into an executive role often requires the Founder to offer an equity incentive to the key employee. This requirement drives a need to understand what the firm is worth today, and how much of the future value should be shared with the key employee.

In this episode, Collective 54 member, Michael Daoud, discusses how he valued his firm, and how he structured the equity share with the key employee. By listening to this episode you will learn when to use an appraisal firm, when to do-it-yourself, and get introduced to a new tool, The Firm Estimator. Members who participated in the private Q&A with Michael will hear the details of the offer, and the negotiations. 

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Episode 109 – How To Avoid The Devastating Fall Out Of a Botched Reorganization Inside of a Professional Service Firm

The design of your boutique’s organization can either aid or hurt a successful exit. Any astute buyer will factor this into their decision-making. This is why simple integrations are attractive. They are cheap, quick, and have a high success rate.

On this episode, Mike Desjardins, CEO at ViRTUS, shares their firm's best practices for a successful reorganization, including the much-awaited backstory of how his team redesigned key roles to keep their top individual contributors.

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Episode 108 – How a Brilliant Founder Expanded Margins By Repositioning His Software Development Shop Into A Strategic Consulting Firm

The number one reason that exits fail is a decline in performance during the sales process. Going into the sales process, you must ensure that you can sustain performance.

On this episode, Phil Alves, CEO at DevSquad, recalls how his firm was able to demonstrate sustainability to potential buyers by expanding their service offerings and reinforcing their business development efforts.

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Episode 107 – From Rookie to President in 7 Years: Why Digital Agencies Need To Develop The Founder’s #2 Right Now

Those who buy boutiques buy management teams first and firms second. The due diligence process is heavily weighted to assess the quality of the management team.

On this episode, Amy Pyles, President at Saxum, examines her experience as the person replicating the founder, what worked vs what didn’t work, and how they continued to work together in this second installment of the Saxum series.

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Episode 106 – How A Founder Optimized Scarce Sales Resources by Narrowing A Generic Market from 4,000 Prospects to A Focused Market of 39

It is harder to sell a service than it is to sell a product. A service is an intangible that makes it harder for clients to buy it. Therefore, understanding your client takes on significance when starting a boutique. The better you understand your client, the better you can serve them.

On this episode, Jay Mitchell, President & Founder of Mereo LLC, shares how his team built their Ideal Client Profile and the results of this highly targeted approach.

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Episode 105 – How a Do-It-For-You Marketing Agency Evolved Into A Consulting Firm Getting Paid More For Advice

When starting a boutique, it is best to begin with the problem you will solve for clients. Why? There are lots of boutiques with solutions that no one is going to buy.

On this episode, Kyle Romaniuk, CEO & ECD at Vantage Studios, sheds light on the process of truly understanding the problem he’s solving for clients. 

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Episode 104 – How a Mid-Western Social Media Agency Reached Scale Quickly By Launching New Services In A Crowded Market

Existing client revenue growth is key to scale. This requires having more to offer clients over time. If you keep bringing them the same thing, they will become fatigued. This is where service offering development becomes a priority as boutiques scale.

On this episode, Beth Trejo, CEO + Founder of Chatterkick, takes us on a journey of launching a new service line, how they identified that opportunity, experimented with it, before landing on the right service model.

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