Today we’d like to introduce you to Ali Wendt.
Thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I worked for my family business, Supportive Living Solutions (SLS), for 16 years. SLS is a human services organization in Minneapolis, MN. During my time there, my Dad was our CEO and as a part of his strategy to help the organization grow and prepare for his exit, he brought in an EOS Implementer. This was my first exposure to EOS – the entrepreneurial operating system. At the beginning of the implementation process, we were about 6 million in revenue and 50 team members strong. We set a goal to double the organization in 10 years so that we could be an answer to the need for more human services within the Twin Cities.
After completing the EOS implementation process, we ended up doubling in less than 5 years – reaching 12 million in revenue and growing to about 170 team members! We would not believe the way our organization was transformed by EOS! It was then I drank the orange Kool-Aid!
About 7 years into operating our family business on EOS, I then went on to meet my husband who was leading a church he had started 10 years prior. They were a great team but were experiencing a lot of the same frustrations we had at the family business. I told him I knew exactly how to help and began working with him to implement EOS within their team. The team was blown away at their level of effectiveness using these tools.
We then made a major life move relocating our family from the greater Twin Cities area to Salt Lake City, Utah. It was an opportunity to ask ourselves what we REALLY wanted to do with our lives and the answer was clear – become an EOS Implementer! That’s how much I truly love and believe in the system. I love what I get to do.
Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The struggle is REAL! Life has been anything but mundane, expected, and easy! It has been an adventure and incredibly rewarding though. Relocating our 6 kiddos across the country, starting a new business where we knew no one, and adjusting to the new norms of life have not been an easy process.
Long story VERY short, my husband Jeff and I were both widowed about 5 years ago. We’ve been married for almost 3 years now and we are thankful to God for each other every single day. But the process of blending a family is incredibly challenging. Add on a relocation and start new businesses (yes, plural), and you’ve got a real pressure cooker. The last 12 months have been a juggling act of stabilizing kids, developing a new support network, and building a business.
EOS has been a true superpower through it all! We not only run our business (and teach others to) on EOS, but we use it to manage our personal lives as well. It’s a way to bring chaos into order and make everything feel just a bit more manageable. It’s always a way to continually keep the RIGHT things in the RIGHT priority. Our kiddos are our most important responsibility in life and they’ve been champs through all the life-change. It’s been incredibly important to constantly remind ourselves that if we lose each other in the busyness of life, then there is no point in any of it! The trick is to continually keep family and business in that order of importance.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
The common theme in everything we do is this: helping business owners live and lead their lives and businesses by DESIGN, not default.
We coach business owners and leaders on designing their lives and businesses using the EOS system. People start businesses because they want to be in control of their lives. But so often, their business takes over and starts controlling them. Too many entrepreneurs come to the point where they just want out – they are burnt out and tired of missing out on life. It doesn’t have to be that way! It also doesn’t have to be such a lonely journey. We love coming alongside a business owner and their leadership team to help them gain control, and begin truly thriving both professionally and personally.
We work with both established business and leadership teams as well as with small start-ups.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
I’ve been reading a lot of information about the amount of businesses that will be exited by the baby boomers in the next 5-10 years. 70% of businesses will be exited in the next 10 years, that’s approximately 10 million businesses.
It’s astounding! This is significant because a majority of those business owners don’t have a clear plan for exiting their business or for life afterward. This means that many are not taking the necessary steps to prepare their business for a sale or handoff. It also means that IF they can sell (which only 20% of businesses that go to market sell), they are likely leaving money on the table by not working to increase the value of their business through working on the “intangible capital” of their business.
This is all very sad to me! I watched my dad prepare for the sale of his business for over 10 years. He sold it to my sister and all three (the business, my dad, and my sister), and thriving today. That is what I would hope for any business owner (not to mention the employees who work for them and the new owner).
EOS is becoming more widely recognized within the exit planning industry as a clear value accelerator and an asset to the business owner in preparing their business for its exit. Businesses that run on EOS sell for an average of 20% higher. I am becoming increasingly passionate about this subject and love helping this business owner end well and set themselves up for an amazing act two.
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Image Credits
Ali & Jeff
