Meeting with a Charlotte business owner recently, I was asked how and why did you found your business consulting and M&A firm and how are you different from other consultants. Earlier in the conversation, it became apparent that ‘other consultants’ often give consulting a bad name. Too many times, we have seen the wreckage of so-called startup and closely-held business consulting experts, fractional CFOs and others…extracting massive fees from a business and not adding much tangible value. Unfortunately, this is all too commonplace as the business consulting and business broker barriers to entry are a business card and a laptop…often a temporary stop out of necessity between landing that next full-time job.
Charlotte Capital was founded in 2004 at the behest of our business owner clients, CEOs of closely-held businesses. I was working at a regional firm that provided emerging and middle-market business owners with a one-stop shop suite of services. Sounds great and it did resonate with business owners. Come get your finance expert, your operations expert, your sales and marketing expert, your M&A expert and your capital raising expert all under one roof and integrated together. My role at the time was in the trenches week-to-week and day-to-day with CEOs and business owners, and at a time I was serving dozens of businesses in varying capacities each week as the go-to accounting/finance resource and expert. Very soon that also evolved into being that go-to strategic and operational advisor. Business consulting engagements included setting and executing business and growth plans, guiding business development and closing deals, enhancing marketing to increase pull to reduce barriers for sales, operational profit-enhancing turnarounds, managing through lender bank ‘workout’ situations, managing through complex legal issues and litigations, formulating and executing strategic business sale plans, leading M&A company sale processes, and debt and equity capital raises, as well as, executing these projects in a hands-on fashion. It’s fun but a lot of work that requires both a broad and deep skillset, technical know-how and time management that focuses on what matters most…which enables both efficient execution and tangible value to be added to client businesses. If you can save businesses money and bring lucrative business in the door, you add unmatched value to that business and its stakeholders. This all would form the basis for Charlotte Capital and the vision to work hands-on with a value-add focus and stay lean and work more like an executive producer leveraging the network and service provider ecosystem versus carrying costly and inefficient consulting firm employee support overhead. With
Charlotte Capital, the business capital is the special sauce that is more than just money.
I can still recall at around the same time in a matter of months, a few trusted clients saying more or less, "You should start your own firm. I don't want to deal with the business consultant, the part-time CFO consultant, the strategy consultant, the sales and marketing consultant, the M&A and capital raising consultant, the associate, the analyst, etc. I have enough on my plate already and I just want to deal with one person (business advisor) that I trust, that gets me and gets my business and has the skills in all areas that we need now and long-term. That person is you!"
So, I heeded that great advice and Charlotte Capital has been assisting business owners since 2004. It is with great thanks to those founders, entrepreneurs and CEOs that we are having such fun and work hard to pay it forward every day!
Charlotte Capital | Strategic Growth Advisors for Entrepreneurs & CEOs
Founded 2004, we work with owners of emerging companies providing strategic guidance and hands-on execution to achieve tangible results and build stakeholder value. We help plan and execute strategic business agendas through COO/CFO Services, Interim Management, M&A Business Sale Advisory, Capital Raising, Debt Financing. Working with business owners to solve problems and lend leadership support. It can be lonely at the top for a CEO, we exist to provide trustworthy practical advice and proven hands-on execution to propel your business forward. We get it and we get the job done.
