The paid entry point to the practice
Diagnose the business before prescribing the fix
Most advisory relationships start with a proposal. This one starts with a measurement.
The OWNER Business Diagnostic examines your financial performance, operations, leadership structure, accountability and owner dependence together — because in an owner-led company they are never separate problems. A margin problem is often a scheduling problem. A staffing problem is often a role-definition problem. Looking at any one of them alone produces a confident answer to the wrong question.
What it produces
- Business Baseline Scorecard
- Where the company stands across the operating pillars we assess, with the evidence behind each score rather than an impression.
- Owner Dependence Index
- How much of the business currently runs through you — measured across the leadership team and against your information, rather than estimated.
- Constraint map
- The two or three things actually limiting performance, separated from the dozen that look like they are.
- Ninety-day priorities
- A list short enough to survive a busy month, with one named owner and one measure against each item.
- Twelve-month roadmap
- What follows the first ninety days, sequenced, so the near-term work is not undone by what comes next.
You keep all of it
If we work together afterwards, we work from these documents. If we don't, they are still the clearest picture of your company that anyone has put on paper — and you can hand them to your accountant, your lender, your board or your successor.
What it costs
OWNER Business Diagnostic engagements begin at $3,500.
Scope and fee are agreed in advance, based on organizational complexity, the information required and the number of people involved. A larger engagement — more locations, a fuller leadership team, more involved financial reconstruction — is typically $7,500.
Scope determines which version is appropriate, not revenue alone. A $3M company in three locations with two partners who disagree is a more complex piece of work than an $8M company under one roof. We will tell you which one we think fits, and why, before you commit to anything.
There is no charge for the conversation that establishes which version is appropriate.
How it runs
Scoping conversation
Twenty to thirty minutes to establish what is going on, whether this is the right piece of work, and which version fits. If it isn't the right piece of work, we'll say so.
Information request
A specific list — not "send us everything." You'll know exactly which statements and reports are needed and why each one is being asked for. Documents go through a secure upload, never email.
Interviews
Conversations with you and with the people who actually run the work. This is usually where the constraint becomes obvious, and it is the part that a questionnaire cannot replace.
Analysis and scoring
The financial, operational and leadership picture assembled into one baseline rather than three separate opinions.
Findings session
We walk through what we found with you — and, where it makes sense, with your leadership team. Uncomfortable findings are delivered privately first.
Documents handed over
Scorecard, dependence index, constraint map, ninety-day priorities, twelve-month roadmap. Yours to keep and use.
Typical elapsed time: [[DIAGNOSTIC_DURATION]]. Time asked of you: [[OWNER_TIME]].
What happens afterwards
Nothing automatically. The diagnostic is a complete piece of work with a defined end, and a reasonable number of clients take the documents and run the work themselves. That is a legitimate outcome and we will say so at the start.
Where clients do continue, it is usually into one of three arrangements: private advisory with the owner, work with the leadership team, or a peer advisory board. Which one fits depends entirely on what the diagnostic found, which is why we don't ask you to choose beforehand.
Book a scoping conversation Or start with the free assessment