Client: Green Mountain Wood Products

Category: Product Manufacturing

Challenge: Save the business----

Result: Return to profitability and successful sale of the business

This entrepreneurial owner of several businesses and real estate holdings, through a series of unforeseen events, was in danger of losing these cross collateralized investments.  

One of his companies, Green Mountain Wood Products, was draining cash rapidly and threatening the viability of the others. This once profitable business had lost most of its largest customers. However, we also recognized that GMWP was could potentially be the most marketable of our client’s holdings in the short term. Knowing that there was a potential buyer for this company, the key leverage point for us was to determine how to win back profitable customers and then market the company for sale as revenue and profit growth returned.

Continuum initiated strategic outreach to targeted customers, through which we identified the main performance issues that led to customer loss. Based on this information we reorganized the operation. The result was that the company was sold quickly stemming the cash drain and preserving the other businesses. 

“We employed Barry as a consultant to help us position for sale one of our seven companies which was struggling as it was under attack by Chinese competition and as I was approaching retirement age. We believed that it would be the hardest to sell and should be sold first."

“Barry did an amazing job of identifying and prioritizing our strategic needs. He first re-positioned the company from a “job shop” to focusing on proprietary items and strategic partnerships. He then cross trained and motivated our staff by “selling” them on the new strategy. Next he created a value added department which could meet our customer’s higher quality and engineering standards and difficult-to-manufacture items while shortening delivery times, making us both unique and irreplaceable in our customer’s eyes."

“Once these goals were accomplished, we marketed the business which consummated in a successful sale within months."

“Without Barry’s help, I not only doubt that a sale would have been possible; I believe that the company would have gone out of business.”

James, Owner/President

Client: New Jersey Window Erectors

Industry: Construction and Trades Industry

Challenge: Bringing order out of chaos caused by rapid growth----

Result: Increased operating efficiency to allow for increased market share while maintaining client quality expectations.

This industrial window and door replacement business was experiencing very rapid growth that was outpacing the capacity of the organization to respond. Since the company was built on delivering superior customer service in a highly competitive industry, this new growth spurt was creating extreme organizational chaos and stress.  

Continuum assessed the situation and discovered that the new business growth, the result of aggressive marketing, was resulting in new sales into different, more complex markets in an expanded geography.

We helped develop a new strategic plan consistent with the owners’ future vision and goals and the new complex market environment. The result was, in a stress producing highly competitive New York, New Jersey industry, the company learned to better make critical decisions and operate more successfully.

The key leverage point we identified was to increase operating efficiency in order to restore high customer value during this rapid growth. All staff and field operations responsibilities were reviewed against roles required to execute the new strategic plan. Putting the right people in the right roles and developing new processes for the growing volume resulted in a less reactive, more productive company. 

"My personal experience with Barry Mirakian was through the excellent coaching he provided to help me transform from a lower level management mentality to a higher executive level view, which is not as easy as one might think.  Barry's experience and broad spectrum of knowledge proved very helpful to me in both the production and financial operations of my position as well as personally.  From the training exercises, to the constructive criticism, to the detailed explanation of how and why to look at circumstances from different angles have made a tremendous difference with how I handle day to day activities in both my professional and personal life.  He provided the unbiased "set of eyes and ears" that I truly needed.  The ability to learn how to examine things from different points of view has reduced my stress level dramatically and I feel has made me a more productive and approachable person.  I feel what I have learned from working with Barry is priceless."

Donna, Director of Operations 

Client: Stonewall Hardscapes 

Category: Trades

Challenge: Develop Strategic growth initiative----

Results: Increased sales by over 150%

Stonewall Hardscapes established a base business in an extremely competitive sector of the construction industry. The owners goal was to grow the company to the next level – and do it responsibly. 

Continuum performed a current state analysis and created future vision clarification. This led to three key strategic initiatives:

• Direct and personal marketing to the existing customer base and to the suppliers and industry general contractors.

• Building an efficient infrastructure to support new sales growth.

• Developing financial savvy and tools to guide growth and performance.  

With a focused effort on these strategies the company increased sales by over 150% while providing excellent customer service and value. 

“Barry has been an integral beacon for the responsible growth of my company in just a few short years of his service.  He has the keen ability to rise above any given situation, good or bad, and bring the owner/manager with him, effectively widening the lens and deciphering what needs to be done now in order to thrive in the future.  His lifelong experiences within diverse industries, coupled with a genuine passion for the search of “business perfection,” create a wealth of knowledge and pertinent insights for any business owner or manager.  His ability to assess, indentify and label possible barriers to success, as well as inspiring strategies to overcome those barriers now and in the future, make him a priceless asset for any company.  His contribution to my business has provided value that will last a lifetime.”

Joshua, Owner 

Category: Electronic Product Development Company

Challenge: Turning organizational underperformance into productive output----

Result: Improved cash flow, which helped the company survive the economic recession. 

The company develops and supplies a complex electronic device to OEM companies in the business to business market. The failure to deliver a high quality product to large customers in a timely fashion was resulting in lost business, throwing the organization into a complete reactive mode, which in turn caused loss of efficiency and underperformance by a competent, dedicated staff. 

Continuum analyzed the problem and helped execute a new business plan based on outsourcing all production to a good contract manufacturing company and improving documentation and communication between staff and production. These actions resulted in a right sized inventory of finished goods, improved productivity, and allowed more time for owners and staff to focus on marketing and new product development. In the end, delivery of a better product and improved cash flow through better inventory management helped this company survive the economic recession. 

"Barry worked closely with me to help me understand how this project should be managed. 

He began with the basics. Objectives were identified. He worked closely with me to build production plans and materials purchasing processes, managing inventory and scheduling.  We reduced our on-hand inventory by over 30% through selective purchasing and scheduled deliveries.

We worked with our subcontract manufacturer to plot product process flow and seek areas for improvement. He led us through a negotiation process that saw both companies making concessions and commitments. Probably the best advice Barry left me with was to occasionally take a step back and try to look at problem from high up. This has helped me see the big picture."

"Barry also taught me how to fly fish, although I have yet to catch my first fish!"

Bill, Manufacturing Mgr