About Matt Hanley
Entrepreneur | Advisor | Mentor
Matt Hanley is a Dallas-based entrepreneur, operator, and founder of The Mentored Business. Over 35 years he’s built and run businesses across many industries — from a sno-cone drive-thru to commercial real estate, RV parks, a retail co-op, a medical device company, land development, and a professional advisory firm he built and ran for more than two decades. That range is the point. The same owner shows up at the desk in every business, and the most useful thing Matt does isn’t hand someone another tactic — it’s help them see themselves clearly, then bring everything he knows about running businesses to whatever they find.
Though based in Dallas, Matt works with owners nationwide, at every stage: those preparing to start something of their own, those whose business has them running ragged and need to get back on solid ground, those ready to set real goals and grow what they’ve built, and those beginning to think about a strong, well-timed exit. Different stages, same work underneath — develop the owner, elevate the outcome.
Where It All Started
From operating a worm farm at age 7 to running a six-figure sno-cone stand as a teen, Matt Hanley has always been drawn to building things from the ground up. For three decades, he’s launched ventures in real estate development, commercial rehab, RV parks, mobile home communities, retail, transportation, and even a medical device company. Matt sees every business development project as a new challenge - and a new opportunity to learn, grow, and help others do the same.
But entrepreneurship isn’t all wins and highlights. Matt knows firsthand the stress, setbacks, and late nights that come with being self-employed. That’s exactly why he created The Mentored Business or TMB for short — to offer aspiring entrepreneurs in Dallas the support and first time business owner mentoring he wishes he had early on. After mentoring new business owners for more than 20 years, Matt realized there was no single place to get real, actionable guidance tailored to the early stages of business development.
Many aspiring entrepreneurs in Dallas have great ideas — but they get stuck along the way. Whether you could use a boost in confidence, clarity, or accountability, Matt steps in with a roadmap, a plan, and the expertise to move you forward. Unlike other programs, he doesn’t just tell you what you should do; he jumps right in alongside as a partner in your success.
About The Mentored Business
Develop the Owner, Elevate the Outcome
The Mentored Business is a Dallas-based mentoring practice built on a simple idea: a business will only ever grow as far as the person running it.
Founder Matt Hanley works one-on-one with a small number of owners each year, drawing on 35 years of building and running companies across more than a dozen industries. Wherever you are — getting back on solid ground, charting where you're headed, or starting something of your own — the work begins in the same place: with you.
01 — STABILIZE
When the business runs you
Cash is tight and the days blur into firefighting. We steady the operation — finding what's draining time, money, and energy — while looking honestly at how you're wired, so the business stands on solid ground built around the owner you actually are.
02 — STRATEGIZE
When you ask where it's going
A stable business raises a bigger question. We trade uncertainty for conviction — clear goals, an honest roadmap, and the trade-offs each path asks of you. And when the time is right, a deliberate, well-timed exit that honors everything you've built.
03 — LAUNCH
Before you ever begin
The heart of what we do. Before the plan, the funding, or the legal setup, we start with you — then shape the business to fit. A focused six-month engagement, with an honest review at 90 days, that gets it right before you build.
Different stages, same work underneath — develop the owner, elevate the outcome.
Start a ConversationFrequently Asked Questions
Questions you might have about Matt Hanley
What is Matt Hanley's business background?
Matt has spent 35 years building and running businesses across a wide range of industries — commercial real estate, RV parks, land development, a retail co-op, a medical device company, transportation, and a professional advisory firm he ran for more than two decades. It started even earlier: a worm farm at age 7 and a six-figure sno-cone stand as a teenager.
Why does industry variety matter in a mentor?
Because the same owner shows up at the desk in every business. Having operated across so many industries, Matt has seen that when a business struggles, the problem usually isn't the business model — it's a mismatch between how the business is run and how the owner is wired. That pattern recognition is something a single-industry specialist can't offer.
Has Matt experienced business failure, or just success?
Both — and that's the point. Matt knows firsthand the stress, setbacks, and late nights of self-employment. He created The Mentored Business to offer the kind of honest, experienced guidance he wishes he'd had early on.
What is Matt's mentoring philosophy?
Confidence, tools, and accountability. Confidence comes from clarity about where the business actually stands. Tools come from a proven framework refined across decades of operating. Accountability comes from a mentor who has been where you are and won't let you quietly drift back to the way things were.
Does Matt do the work himself, or hand clients off to a team?
Matt works one-on-one with every owner personally, which is why he takes on only a small number of clients each year. When specialized help is needed — legal, financial, marketing, operations — he brings in trusted professionals from a network built over decades.
