“success” shouldn't make your life worse
Purposeful systems
Most founder-led businesses between $1M and $5M are run by someone who’s great at what they do, and they’ve built a successful company. Which is why it’s always surprising when the cracks start showing.
They built this business. They know the product, the clients, the craft. And then the business grew complex enough that intuition and informal management weren’t working any more. And the tensions started showing in the team, in the numbers, in the founder’s own clarity.
Most founders handle this in one of three ways.
They work harder. Or they hire someone and hope for the best. Or they read another book, listen to another podcast, and build their mental toolkit–but without anyone to help them actually implement it.
None of these are wrong, but none of them fix the core problem. The business has outgrown its original operating system, and the founder is still trying to run it on the old one.
I’m a business coach for founder-led businesses who want to build a company that works well, pays well, and makes life better for the people inside and around it.
I’m a strange combination for a business coach. I’m an empath and idealist, but I've focused on the “cold” tools of business: finance, systems, and operations. That journey has included a Chartered Financial Analyst charter and an MBA. I've gone from writing software to co-leading a software company across two continents, with over 40 employees, with our products in many of the largest financial institutions in the US.
I’ve frequently been the person in the room bridging the financial/operational reality and the human one, and I’ve learned that most of what breaks in a founder-led business breaks at exactly that intersection.
I grew up at the intersection of Japanese and Amish-Mennonite cultures in rural Kansas. In both traditions, as you build, you take your responsibility to the community seriously. That’s the kind of founder I work with, and whose success I’ll help fuel.
In practice, that means making sure you always understand what your finances are telling you. It means building the systems to keep services and products flowing smoothly. It means understanding the business you want to build, and the conversations and frameworks that will help your team get there together. And it means honoring and building up your people.
When I described what I do as “helping businesspeople keep the business from eating them”, one founder knew we needed to talk–and several months later, he had his employees brainstorming process improvements with him.
You can keep on working hard to figure out the next level while the company's weight rests on your shoulders. Or you can get support in understanding your processes, your finances, your structure, and your people, and in building a business that's running and growing well without draining the energy from the rest of your life.
Book a call. It might be only an hour, but you'll leave with new inspiration and new perspective on your business.
Say goodbye to isolation and stress
You don't have to “fight through it” alone.
You got into business because you have something great to offer. You've learned a lot along the way. And maybe it still feels like there's a lot to learn.
But when you're running a business, there's a lot of pressure. Not only do you have to stay solvent, but–for a lot of us–there's the pressure to look successful. Maybe our customers won't buy if they see us facing challenges. Or suppliers won't give us the terms we need. Or people won't work with us or refer us.
It makes it hard to ask for help. It makes it hard to really connect with other business owners–who are probably facing the same issues–and get their input and support. It makes it hard for us as business owners–when there's a gut-twisting knot that keeps us up at night, but we can't safely talk with anyone about it, to get their help in solving it–and just in staying sane!
As a business coach, I help people solve business problems, whether through strategy frameworks or simple daily practices. As a coach, I help people understand their worlds and get better at business, at leadership, and at life. And I open a space where you can talk about all the stuff that keeps you up at night without worrying about judgment–and figure out what to do about it.
If you're tired of fighting through entrepreneurship alone, if you're tired of doing business the hard way, we should talk.
I know how hard it is to build a business. If you book a call, I won't add to your stress by trying to push you into working with me–and sometimes, we shouldn't work together. But in our 55 minutes together, I'll help you figure out what your next best step is.
Joel Iwashige: Chartered Financial Analyst, MBA, Business Made Simple Certified Coach, Kansas Leadership Center-trained Leadership Coach