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I'm Kevin Donnelly
If you’re here, you’re probably a business owner whose wealth is trapped in your business and thinking about what’s next.
Let’s talk about the action steps necessary to build a highly valuable business that does not rely on you for everything. A business that’s correctly positioned to unlock your wealth so you can plan for what’s next on your own journey. I like to call it the Freedom Point.
So There I was . . .
How I went from selling my first business to my largest competitor to helping other service-based business owners build their own valuable business while reducing the business’s reliance on them and unlocking their wealth trapped in the business.
So there I was on December 26, 2006. My company, Speed Wire, had hit a rough patch, and I had just laid off half the company. 40 people in one day!
On my way home that day, I asked myself, “What just happened?” Then I realized I was asking the wrong question. I should have been asking, “WHY did this happen?”
Asking that question sent me on a now two-decade long quest to get great at the business of business. Over this time, I invested hundreds of thousands of dollars and an incredible amount of time learning from world class coaches, mentors and from my own lessons learned the hard way.
All this is what I’m able to teach my coaching clients to shorten their learning curve to success. By applying what I learned, not only did I turn Speed Wire around, I built it into the largest security and smart home installation subcontractor in the country.
But Then, Everything Changed . . .
In 2014, when I sold the company to MasTec, a publicly traded company out of Miami, we had grown from 40 people to 600 spread across 36 offices nationally. We were doing $50 million a year in revenue.
After working for MasTec for a short time, I left in 2016 and launched another similar technology field services business, PremiseLink. I used the same methods I used to grow Speed Wire and sold it to Private Equity in 2023.
I’ve distilled the key lessons I’ve learned over my 25 year journey as an entrepreneur into 4 key areas. I turned those lessons into a framework called the Freedom Factors.
These factors are:
TALENT: The quality of your people is the quality of your business. You’ve got to get great at finding, selecting, and keeping A-players.
CULTURE: I used to think getting the right people was everything in business, but I realized a company’s culture is either a force multiplier or an anchor that will drag you down.
BUSINESS OPERATING SYSTEM: A playbook that enables the owner or CEO to transition from being the singer and lead guitarist of the band to being the conductor of an orchestra is essential. An OS gives the owner the system they need to have their finger on the pulse of the business without having to micromanage and be stuck in the weeds. It’s used to keep everyone communicating effectively, aligned, executing, and accountable.
STRATEGY: You must develop a strategy that’s focused on intentionally building a valuable company - not just chasing revenue. I use a strategy called the 8 Drivers of Value. I teach this to those working with me.
Your Freedom Point . . .
Most importantly, it comes down to the Owner’s role in the business. Many businesses struggle as they grow because they rely too much on the owner to make sure everything works properly.
Every company grows until it hits the point where that no longer works. In order for the business to make it to the next stage of growth, it needs the systems and frameworks that allow it to scale.
The owner’s got to work ON the business, not IN the business. As the owner, your job is to prepare your business and yourself for growth.
The ultimate goal is to build a business that can thrive without you, the owner, at the center of all activity.
I call it reaching the Freedom Point–the point at which you own the business and the business no longer owns you.
My Mission . . .
So now, I’m on a mission to help business owners increase the value of their business while reducing its reliance on them and unlocking their wealth that’s trapped in the business.
By choosing to work with me, you’re going to:
- Understand the current value of your business and discover exactly where you need to focus to increase its value.
- Learn how to get great at finding and selecting top talent so you can build the team that will help you get to the next level.
- Get access to the tools and frameworks to navigate the various stages of business growth, giving you the accountability, alignment, and communication systems you need to increase the value of your business.
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In the end my MISSION became
To help business owners increase the value of their business while reducing its reliance on them and unlocking their wealth that’s trapped in the business.