12/20/2023
Hey guys - best laid plans. I had high hopes for pivoting out of Covid in 2023 and it turned out instead I got surprised by serious illness that took me out of circulation for the better part of 6 months.
WHERE HAVE I BEEN?
I'm happy to say I'm coming out of that now and putting it behind me. All I have to do is wait for my taste buds to recover so I can enjoy restaurants again and gain back 35 pounds! (no video calls for a couple months yet).
So I thought I'd take a moment to recap where I'm at with my businesses and what is coming in 2024.
SPLITSVILLE
First off, I split my consulting into 2 businesses with very different clientele. Many of you remember Eliv8Group. I ran everything through it from website courses catering to solo operators like photographers all the way to management consulting with Fortune 500 firms and everything in between. It made marketing pretty tough and was confusing for myself and probably for you too.
ELIV8
So now Eliv8 is my "big company" corporate mgmt consulting firm. https://Eliv8group.com. These are typically big, multi-month projects involving my extended virtual team of experts. Custom proposals, signed contracts - the whole 9 yards. By "big company" I'm usually talking businesses with revenues over $2M/yr.
Eliv8 definitely has its roots in my past as a Fortune 500 exec. In fact, it was my desire to bring Fortune 500 concepts to small companies that led me to early retirement and my 2nd (or 3rd - who's counting) career as an independent consultant in the first place.
SOLOS AND SIDE HUSTLES
As gratifying as that is however, over the past few years, I've become increasingly interested in the solo operator and "side hustle" culture and the notion of people routinely now outliving their savings. Whereas it starrted as the "free agent nation" movement of the late 90's, after the recession of 2010 wiped out 401k's and later covid shuttered businesses costing so many careers, what was once a way to earn extra money, the solo small business side hustle has morphed into a basic survival tool for millions of folks afraid for the future.
GBBC
So in 2022 I formed Geoff Brandt Business Coaching to focus exclusively on micro businesses with the intent of helping folks - most often with fewer business skills other than a passion for a hobby or a business idea - make it to and through retirement with money to spare. https://GeoffBrandt.com
My (rather loose) definition of "micro" is businesses up to $1M in revenue - although the vast majority of the folks who've engaged me are bringing in (or hope to bring in) a fraction of that number.
Over the years, my business partners and I have picked up ownership interest in some of the firms we've helped launch (or save from extinctipn!) so there are other companies too, but these two are my "main squeeze" - with GBBC definately getting the lion's share of my focus and passion.
WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOU
It's very gratifying to spend 20 minutes on a free consult with someone looking for advice, and a year later see them have their best year ever. It's even better when they tell me that their "side hustle" will guarantee they won't run out of money, even if they live to 100!
This post is already too long, so I'll just close by mentioning two new services I'll be launching in January:
1. Tech Makeover: Essentially with all the new AI stuff happening and advances in hardware and remote staffing since covid etc. I'll asses what you need to get "2024 current" with software, tech and communications to stay competitive with your competition (especially with the AI) and get it all installed and working properly.
2. A whole new online school with courses of all kinds. Not just a series of boring videos behind a paywall, but full-on courses with quizzes, interactive feedback, webinars with live Q&A (with me) etc. I'm really excited about this. The first course is a "business 101" system that covers all the basics - sales, marketing, finance, legal etc. that everyone should take since business has changed so much in the last 5 years. I'll have three tiers from self-paced to full on moderated at very exciting price points! I can't wait.
NEXT STEP
So I encourage all of you to head over and take advantage of my free call to go over your business (or idea for a business) and get your head screwed on straight about your finances at https://GeoffBrandt.com/contact . There you'll have access to my calender to grab some time wtih me.
I look forward to talking to you guys. And if I don't, have a wonderful holiday and I'll see you in January when my free weekly business webinars make their return! I just hope I've gained some of my weight back by then...
Oh - before I forget - if you have 5 minutes and really want to know if you'll have the money to retire, head over to https://geoffbrandt.com/goldencheckout and download my simple tool to tell you EXACTLY when you'll run out! It's only 10 bucks. And I'll credit you back any time you invest in any of GBBC's offerings!
