Seek strategic change for growth

“I’m feeling stuck and stressed about how to grow my company.”

Top-line growth, improved cash flow and greater operating efficiencies are common objectives of business owners seeking to move forward. What’s your next growth milestone to enhance your business value?

Common opportunities that you may consider: increase revenue in challenging markets; improve margins and bottom-line profits; find a new bank or lender that can meet your working capital needs; structure an acquisition or sale transaction to maximize leverage; resolve internal conflicts that may be hindering your progress; identify the next-generation leader; and, guide a business recovery from a setback.

As business mentors, we have helped companies like yours to take advantage of these types of opportunities and others. We have more than three decades of experience and success in different businesses and industries.

We will bring a fresh perspective to guide you through options and problem solving for achieving the next growth milestone — and a good night’s sleep.

Business Strategy Examples

  • A successful manufacturer was considering a potential acquisition that, on paper, looked like a strategic fit with significant business value. Platinum Group was invited to assess the situation on a expedited timetable. We made the case for a “no go” decision because the company’s performance wasn’t projected sufficient to justify the new investment.
  • A business was operating at near break even with available financial resources but desperately needed top-line growth. We guided the owners into focusing sales on high payback areas and expanding the company’s presence in its core business. Four months into the new sales strategy, the company’s name recognition was rising — with top-line revenues to grow by 30 percent in the following year.
  • A growing company’s success attracted cutthroat, competitive cost pressure. Rather than taking the lowest-cost provider position in the market, senior management needed a new plan. Platinum Group’s strategic planning process led to market expansion — and two years later, the company almost doubled.

Read more case studies to learn about successful business growth strategies.

Specialized Business Advice Services and Contacts

  

M&A Advisory

Bob Stewart, Ron Leaf

  • Sell-Side Advisory
  • Buy-Side Advisory
  • Raising of Capital

Financial Advisory

Glaydon Iverson, Rod Peterson, Ron Leaf, Stacy Heuer, Amanda Lee

  • Interim CFO/Controller
  • Budgeting/Preparing Projections
  • Banking Negotiations
  • Structuring of Debt
  • Debt Placement

Human Resources Advisory

Amanda Lee

  • Employee Relations
  • HR Compliance
  • Payroll Strategies
  • Talent Acquisition & Management
  • Training & Leadership Development

Conflict Resolution

Bill English, Tom Hubler, Steve Coleman

  • Shareholder Disputes
  • Family Member Disputes
  • Employee Friction
  • Team Building

Communications

Dale Kurschner

  • Crisis Communication
  • Internal Employee Communications
  • External Messaging
  • Strategic Marketing

Platinum Ventures Forum

Kevin Nieuwsma, Bob Lehmann, Investors

  • Platinum’s version of “Shark Tank”
  • Start-Up Advisory
  • Business Planning
  • Governance
  • Financial Modeling for Investor

Real Estate

Bob Lehmann

  • Real Estate Financing
  • Real Estate Workout
  • Real Estate Disposition

Non-Profit Advisory

Randy Kroll, Steve Coleman, Rod Peterson

  • Strategic Planning
  • Financial Advisory
  • Interim Leadership
  • Governance

Tools for Business Advice

Growth Opportunities: Checklist for Improving Current Operations

Ways for companies to look for growth opportunities. MORE

REBOOT: Post-Closing Integration

REBOOT is a tool for post-M&A integration when merging two cultures, as well as organizations in need of a fresh start. Departments, teams, divisions, and entire companies can get... MORE

Opportunity Assessment Offer “Big Picture” Checkup on Business Health

How Platinum helps owners to restore, enhance or realize the value of their businesses. MORE

Your First Step

For a no-obligation consultation about your specific growth strategy issues, contact:
Faith Barnard

Faith.Barnard@thePlatinumGrp.com
952-829-5700

“Small companies that do not have enough work for a full-time admin person like the fact that I can stop by their business once a week or twice a month to take care of things. I enjoy providing timely, accurate and responsive support to Platinum clients, which enables them to focus on serving their own customers.”

Pat Brennan

Pat.Brennan@thePlatinumGrp.com
952-259-3232

“I’m the first call you should make with business issues keeping you awake at night. We’ll work together to navigate through negative financial performance and chart a way back to positive cash flow and profitability.”

Steve Coleman

Steve.Coleman@thePlatinumGrp.com
612-270-4327

“I enjoy helping owners explore a destination for transition into a next stage of life, and then map out a pathway there. So many of them want to step down, but not stop making a contribution. Catalyzing that change is the most satisfying part of this work for me.”

Greg Coward

Greg.Coward@thePlatinumGrp.com
612-384-8990

“I find it more satisfying to work with smaller companies because they emphasize team effort and require focus in thinking or process. Using my experience across multiple industries, I am able to gain a quick understanding of a company’s people and culture and a feel for what will or won’t work.”

Bill English

Bill.English@thePlatinumGrp.com
952-259-3217

“I bring a unique background to small business owners as an entrepreneur and licensed psychologist with a business process improvement focus. This means restoring wholeness to business owners and value to their businesses. I enjoy helping family owned businesses in conflict return to improved relationships and helping the owner find balance between work and business.”

Stacy Heuer

Stacy.Heuer@thePlatinumGrp.com
952-829-5700

“I always strive for accuracy, knowing that getting the numbers right is essential for a smooth operation and timely decision making.”

Tom Hubler

Tom.Hubler@thePlatinumGrp.com
612-810-2665

“I work with families to develop a shared vision for the family and the business. This includes identifying individual talents, tackling any unspoken issues, and creating individual and organizational strategies to ensure a personally and financially rewarding business. My focus is to ensure family values to continue to emphasize a family culture of gratitude, philanthropy and purposeful living.”

Glaydon Iverson

Glaydon.Iverson@thePlatinumGrp.com
952-259-3212

“Great satisfaction comes from being part of the Platinum team that helps clients pull themselves out of tough times and into a more hopeful, positive and successful situation.”

Randy Kroll

Randy.Kroll@thePlatinumGrp.com
952-829-5700

“It excites me to help the leadership of for-profit and nonprofit organizations to re-design and re-think the culture, systems and environment in order to position them for growth and development.”

Dale Kurschner

Dale.Kurschner@thePlatinumGrp.com
763-567-9241

“I enjoy helping business owners and leaders successfully communicate during periods of intense change such as acquisitions and divestitures, rapid growth, family business successions, crises and turnarounds.”

Ron Leaf

Ron.Leaf@thePlatinumGrp.com
952-237-1932

“I enjoy helping business owners find solutions to their financial and capital challenges. Combining my broad investment and advisory experience with a process of research and analysis, I develop creative solutions that enable business growth.”

Amanda Lee

Amanda.Lee@ThePlatinumGrp.com
651-295-1651

“Why do we do it this way?” When it comes to finances and human resources (HR), many organizations will answer: “It’s the way we’ve always done it!” It’s my passion to help these same organizations to take it up a notch and find new efficiencies. I offer a fresh set of eyes into their financial statements, processes and teams to help them go from good to great.

Robert Lehmann

Robert.Lehmann@thePlatinumGrp.com
612-805-6648

“I’ve seen a lot of complicated real estate issues over the past 30 years — from both the lender’s and owner’s standpoint. My goal is to help owners and lenders to return their real estate to a performing asset in troubling situations.”

Kevin Nieuwsma

Kevin.Nieuwsma@thePlatinumGrp.com
651-307-2781

“I offer clients the energy and passion for bringing breakthrough concepts to marketplace reality.”

Rod Peterson

Rod.Peterson@thePlatinumGrp.com
612-308-3369

“I enjoy raising capital for companies that are rapidly growing or in some sort of transition. It is satisfying structuring and closing a transaction that allows a company to pursue its strategic goals.”

Bob Stewart

Bob.Stewart@thePlatinumGrp.com
952-259-3237

“I enjoy working with business owners to identify and achieve their goals for themselves and their businesses based on my unique perspective as an attorney, CPA and entrepreneurial background.”

Greg Backlund

Greg.Backlund@thePlatinumGrp.com
612-859-2817

“I like to work closely alongside business owners and their staff to identify manufacturing process issues and improvement strategies. Through a facilitated approach, I can help set a new direction that the improvement team can truly own, which breeds excitement and pride on reaching their business goals.”

Dean Bachelor

Dean.Bachelor@thePlatinumGrp.com
952-259-3218

“Our mission — ‘Meaningful Capitalism’ — provides the impetus for us to seek ways to bring meaning and value to every relationship, every client and every situation.”

Jennifer Strom

Jennifer.Strom@thePlatinumGrp.com
763-504-2912

“I thrive on becoming a trusted partner with business leaders on HR solutions that directly impact the organization’s ultimate success. An analysis of payroll technology may indicate a need for a different vendor or platform to accommodate growth. Bringing in the right people with the right skills, then investing in their development, builds capacity for growth. And every business has different compliance needs that support and protect strong employee relations.”

business advice

We will bring a fresh perspective to guide you through options and problem solving for achieving the next growth milestone and a good night’s sleep.

Seek strategic change for growth

“I’m feeling stuck and stressed about how to grow my company.”

Top-line growth, improved cash flow and greater operating efficiencies are common objectives of business owners seeking to move forward. What’s your next growth milestone to enhance your business value?

Common opportunities that you may consider: increase revenue in challenging markets; improve margins and bottom-line profits; find a new bank or lender that can meet your working capital needs; structure an acquisition or sale transaction to maximize leverage; resolve internal conflicts that may be hindering your progress; identify the next-generation leader; and, guide a business recovery from a setback.

As business mentors, we have helped companies like yours to take advantage of these types of opportunities and others. We have more than three decades of experience and success in different businesses and industries.

Business Strategy Examples

  • A successful manufacturer was considering a potential acquisition that, on paper, looked like a strategic fit with significant business value. Platinum Group was invited to assess the situation on a expedited timetable. We made the case for a “no go” decision because the company’s performance wasn’t projected sufficient to justify the new investment.
  • A business was operating at near break even with available financial resources but desperately needed top-line growth. We guided the owners into focusing sales on high payback areas and expanding the company’s presence in its core business. Four months into the new sales strategy, the company’s name recognition was rising — with top-line revenues to grow by 30 percent in the following year.
  • A growing company’s success attracted cutthroat, competitive cost pressure. Rather than taking the lowest-cost provider position in the market, senior management needed a new plan. Platinum Group’s strategic planning process led to market expansion — and two years later, the company almost doubled.

Read more case studies to learn about successful business growth strategies.