For the CPA, bookkeeper or banker who knows an owner is stuck.
You already have the conversation I want to have. This page tells you what your client gets, what you get, and why I do not pay referral fees.
The owner you are thinking of
They made money, paid their taxes, and said some version of "I thought we'd be bigger by now." You can see it in the numbers: flat revenue, margin on two of five lines, a draw that has not moved in three years. Or they came in for a loan to grow and could not say clearly what the money does.
You are not set up to fix that, and you should not be. But you are the one they trust.
What the owner gets
Two weeks with an operator. I find where the business actually makes its money, look at who is competing for the same customers, and hand the owner one thing to go do and a 90-day plan to do it. Fixed fee, $4,500, paid up front, no hourly meter.
The plan names what the money does, when, and how the owner knows it worked.
What you get
A better client. An owner who understands their own unit economics asks you harder questions and comes back for growth capital with a plan you can underwrite.
Your work stays yours. Anything that touches tax, entity structure or the books goes back to the owner's CPA, in writing, in the plan. I never tell an owner to borrow. That is the banker's conversation.
You hear what happened. With the owner's permission, I send you a short summary within a week of the readout.
Why there is no referral fee
If I pay you, then the day you say "talk to Derek," your client has to wonder whether you said it because it was true or because you were paid. I would rather your word stay worth what it is worth.
You refer when you think it is right. I do good work. I send people back to you because you are good at what you do.
Who fits and who does not
Fits. Founder-run, $1M to $15M, 5 to 75 people, profitable but stuck, in Hays County or the Austin area.
Does not fit. A business that is losing money or behind. The Diagnostic is for owners who are profitable and stuck. I will say no kindly and tell you why.
One sentence you can use
There's an operator in Dripping Springs who spends two weeks figuring out where a business actually makes its money and gives you one thing to go do. Fixed price. Want me to introduce you?
How an introduction works
- You tell me one name and roughly what they do.
- I tell you yes or no within 48 hours.
- You send a two-line email introducing us. I never contact an owner you have not introduced.
- I reply within one business day and meet them at their place of business.
- You hear from me after the conversation and again after the readout. I never share an owner's numbers.
Or call (737) 773-3024, or write [email protected].
Bring us the outcome that matters — and the part that is stuck.
One conversation, 45 minutes, no charge, at your shop, over coffee or by video. If it fits, you get a one-page proposal within a day. If it does not, you get a straight answer and, where I can, the name of someone who can help.