For founders scaling from $1M to $5M
Your revenue grew. Your clarity didn't.
A two-day strategic planning intensive that gets you and your leadership team aligned on one plan everyone actually owns. You walk out knowing exactly what matters this year, this quarter, and who's accountable for it.
We don't take every team. The first step is a short conversation to see if this is the right fit.
Sound familiar?
You built this on instinct. The instinct isn't scaling with you.
- Your leadership team is busy, but you're not sure they're working on the right things.
- Every quarter feels reactive. The real plan lives in your head, not on paper.
- You're still the bottleneck for almost every decision that matters.
- Growth has either stalled, or it's coming so fast it's getting messy.
- Everyone's working hard. Nobody's fully sure what "winning" looks like this quarter.
What it is
Two days. Your leadership team in one room. One clear plan.
We facilitate a focused two-day strategic planning session with you and your executive team. You step out of the day-to-day and work on the business together. We bring the structure and ask the hard questions. Your team builds the plan, so they own it.
We facilitate using the proven framework from Verne Harnish's bestselling book Scaling Up, the same approach used by thousands of growth companies to turn strategy into execution.
What you walk out with
One plan on a single page. Something your whole team can see, remember, and rally around. No 40-page binder that dies in a drawer.
The few priorities that actually matter. Your long-term goal, plus the handful of moves that drive it this year and this quarter.
Numbers that tell you the truth. The metrics that show whether you're winning, before the bank balance does.
Clear ownership. Who is accountable for what, with no ambiguity and nowhere for priorities to fall through the cracks.
A leadership team that's aligned. Not just informed after the fact. Bought in, because they helped build it.
An operating rhythm to keep it alive. A simple cadence so the plan drives the next 90 days instead of gathering dust.
How it works
It's More than two days in a room.
The working session is the centerpiece. But the results come from what surrounds it: the prep that makes two days count, and the rhythm that keeps the plan alive after everyone goes back to work.
Discovery & prep
We gather your numbers, get short input from each leader, and agree on what the two days need to produce. So we open day one already moving.
The working session
You and your leadership team, in one room, building the plan together. We facilitate, push, and keep it honest. This is where alignment actually happens.
Plan finalized
We clean up and deliver your one-page plan, priorities, metrics, and owners. Everyone leaves with the same document and the same understanding.
Accountability rhythm
Optional quarterly sessions to keep the plan current and the team on track, with deeper implementation support if and when you want it.
Honest qualification
This works for the right team. Not for everyone.
This is for you if
- You're between $1M and $5M and serious about scaling.
- You have a leadership team (or are building one) and can get them in a room for two full days.
- You're ready to work on the business, not just in it.
- You want a plan your team builds and owns, not one handed to you.
This is not for you if
- You're pre-$1M or running solo. (Ask us about earlier-stage work instead.)
- You want a document delivered, not a process your team goes through.
- You can't free up your leadership team for two days.
- You're looking for a one-time fix, not a new way of operating.
The part most people skip
A plan on the wall changes nothing. Execution does.
Most strategic plans die within 60 days. Not because they're wrong, but because nothing keeps them alive. The teams that actually scale hold a rhythm. We offer quarterly planning workshops to keep the plan current, and deeper implementation support if you want a hand putting it into motion. We only talk about that once your plan is built, and only if you want to.
Who's in the room
James Lawson
Co-founder of Impact Business Solutions, business coach, and fractional sales leader. James has spent more than a decade helping owners of growing service businesses turn instinct into systems and revenue into a repeatable engine.
He facilitates strategy work for leadership teams, advises the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce, and hosts the Business Success By Design podcast. In the room, his job is simple: keep your team honest, ask the questions you've been avoiding, and make sure you leave with a plan you'll actually run.
From the room
What founders say afterward
"Until now it's been chasing revenue. Working with James over the last few weeks and then the 2 day intensive just helped put a plan we can execute in place. We will be using James to help us with the implementation but it wouldn't have got there without his help"
Gordon S, Founder, Marketing Agency โ $2.5M"This was a first class experience working with James. Just spending the time to get the entire executive team on the same page, knowing the goals we have set and having a strategy to get there was well worth it."
Steve G, President, SAASโ $5M and GrowingLet's see if it's a fit.
No pitch and no pressure. A short conversation to understand where your business is, where you want it to go, and whether two days together is the right next move.
Request a fit conversation