Mentoring
Most business advice is built to be handed over and walked away from. This isn't that.
A consultant solves one problem and leaves. A coach asks questions and lets you find your own answers. A course gives you a framework and a login. All have their place — none is what happens here. Mentoring is a working partnership built around your business and the person running it.
I've spent 35 years building and running companies across a lot of industries, and the most useful thing I've learned is this:
Most business problems aren't really business problems. They're owner problems wearing a business disguise.
So the work goes in two directions at once — on the business in front of you, and on the way you're wired to run it. That's the part almost no one else does, and it's the part that makes the rest stick.
The work is a twelve-month engagement, with honest exit points built in.
The Twelve-Month Engagement
A year of real work on the business in front of you and the person running it — with honest exit points built in.
- 01
The Right Order
When something's on fire — cash, people, margin — we start there and get you back on solid ground so you can sleep again. Stabilize first, always; only then do we go deeper into why you're really doing this and how you decide.
For owners who aren't in crisis but ready to grow, the principle holds: we set the goal before we build the plan. Growth without a destination isn't growth — it's just momentum, and momentum can carry you somewhere you never chose.
- 02
How You're Wired
Early on we do an Enneagram assessment together — not a parlor game, but a working map of how you're built: where your instincts serve you and where they quietly trip you up. It's how I learn to mentor you specifically.
I won't waste our time turning weaknesses into strengths; that's mostly futile. Instead we magnify the strengths you already have and manage around the rest — the goal isn't a different owner, but the fullest version of the one you already are.
- 03
Your Month
Once a month we sit down for about 90 minutes, in person or virtually — the deep session, where we step back, work on the foundation, and set the direction for the month. Every week in between we talk for 30 to 45 minutes: wins, challenges, adjustments, and anything that can't wait until we sit down again. Running a business is lonely, and this call is one of the places it isn't.
You'll have work between sessions and so will I — while you're in the trenches, I'm researching and solving behind the scenes, so you never start from scratch.
- 04
Honest Exits
A year is a serious commitment, so it has honest exits built in. There are two review points — at 90 days and, more fully, at six months — where we look squarely at whether the work is actually serving you.
The 90-day review is a real off-ramp: if either of us thinks it isn't the right work for you, it ends there, no penalty. That's on purpose — it means the rest of the engagement is something you're actively choosing, not locked into.
- 05
A Partnership
This is a partnership, not a service. You're not hiring me to run your business or to fix you — we're both responsible for the outcome. You bring honesty about what's actually happening, the discipline to do the work between sessions, and your real numbers when we need them.
I bring 35 years of operating across many industries, deep financial and operational fluency, frameworks for how owners get stuck, steady accountability, and complete confidentiality. I'll push back when I need to, and I'll expect you to push back on me.
- 06
What You Keep
Not a binder — a different way of running, and being. A business on solid ground instead of lurching from fire to fire, a real goal worth chasing, and the confidence that comes from clarity instead of gut-feel and hope.
One owner put it simply afterward: he no longer checks his bank balance every morning. He has savings and, more than that, confidence running his business. The numbers improve because the owner does.
- 07
The Investment
A flat monthly fee for a twelve-month engagement, priced for the owners I actually work with. I don't work with enterprises — I work with real small businesses, the kind where the owner signs every check and feels each one, so the fee is set to make sense at that scale.
I've spent 35 years signing those checks myself, so I know what a monthly line item feels like to a small operator. We'll settle on the exact number in our first conversation — not to be coy, but because what you're dealing with shapes where you start.
- 08
Start a Conversation
No commitment, no pressure to decide on the call. I'll ask about your business and what brought you here; you'll ask me whatever you need to. By the end, we'll both know whether this is the right work for you, at this time, with me.
If it isn't, I'll tell you honestly what would actually serve you — even if that's pointing you somewhere else.
Start a Conversation
Frequently Asked Questions
Questions you might have about Mentoring
How long is a mentoring engagement?
Twelve months, with honest exit points built in. There are two review points — at 90 days and more fully at six months — where you and Matt look squarely at whether the work is serving you. The 90-day review is a real off-ramp with no penalty, which means the rest of the engagement is something you're actively choosing.
How often do we meet?
Once a month, you sit down for a 90-minute deep session — in person or virtually — to work on the foundation and set direction. Every week in between, there's a 30-to-45-minute call covering wins, challenges, and anything that can't wait. Running a business is lonely; that weekly call is one of the places it isn't.
What does mentoring cost?
A flat monthly fee for the twelve-month engagement, priced for real small businesses — the kind where the owner signs every check and feels each one. The exact number gets settled in the first conversation, because what you're dealing with shapes where the work starts.
Why does the engagement include an Enneagram assessment?
Because most business problems are owner problems wearing a business disguise. The Enneagram is used as a working map of how you're built — where your instincts serve you and where they trip you up. The goal isn't to manufacture a different owner; it's to magnify the strengths you already have and manage around the rest.
What's expected of me as a client?
This is a partnership, not a service. You bring honesty about what's actually happening, the discipline to do the work between sessions, and your real numbers when needed. Matt brings 35 years of operating experience, research and problem-solving between sessions, steady accountability, and complete confidentiality.
