What started in 2023 as an experiment of bringing together business owners in a confidential, no-pressure environment has grown into an annual gathering of business owners and their professional advisers seeking to navigate the terrain of building, scaling, and eventually exiting their companies.

We’re thrilled to announce the 3rd Annual Business Owner Forum, happening Thursday, November 13, 2025, from 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM at the beautiful Orchard Lake Country Club in Southeast Michigan.

Traveling just behind the leader offers a unique perspective. From systems to team growth, Sandy shares the hidden trail markers she’s seen that help business owners build companies that run without them.

What can a kid-run lemonade stand teach us about running a successful business? From finding customers to building a brand, making smart investments, and scaling wisely, these lighthearted lessons from my daughters’ summer stand might surprise you with their real-world relevance.

Culture isn’t fluff — it’s foundational. From slashing turnover to boosting valuation at sale, the strength of your company culture has real financial consequences. In this post, we unpack how core values drive performance, retention, and reputation — and why culture should be a strategic priority, not a side note.

Politics might not be your favorite topic, but it’s one your business can’t afford to ignore. From shifting subsidies to evolving regulations, political forces can significantly impact your company’s value and stability. In this blog post, we explore how to recognize political vulnerabilities in your business model, avoid overreliance on temporary programs, and ask the right questions to safeguard your future.

Is your business growing fast—but your finances feel chaotic? If you’re constantly troubleshooting cash flow, buried in spreadsheets, or planning a major move like a sale or acquisition, it might be time to bring in expert help. Discover 5 key signs it’s time to hire a Fractional CFO—and how the right financial partner can elevate your business without the full-time cost.

International trade might seem like a distant concept, but its effects are closer to home than you think. In the US or North America, there are simply many items that cannot be acquired locally. Our interdependence is here to stay. Even if you yourself don’t import or export something, your suppliers or clients probably do, and this can have a big impact on your bottom line.

As an entrepreneur, you probably got where you are based on a combination of hard work, passion, and trusting yourself. You had to rely on your gut and your instincts to make brilliant choices. 

But there are two moments in your entrepreneurial journey where those very things can be your downfall, and they both have to do with keeping the right key performers on your team.

Are you a busy entrepreneur drowning in a sea of administrative tasks? You're not alone. One business owner found themselves working late nights and sacrificing precious family time. But by making a strategic decision to delegate, they reclaimed their time and supercharged their business. Learn how they did it and discover 10 ways you can too.

As a successful business owner, you're wearing many hats - perhaps too many. From managing your team to handling finances and marketing, nearly every task seems to demand your attention. What if there was a way to lighten your load without sacrificing quality or productivity? The answer lies in automation.

Overall, if your business is growing and sales are coming in, you have a feeling that your sales team is performing well. If you’re getting new inquiries, you probably have a sense that your marketing efforts are working. Without a CRM in place, the owner will be mostly leading their salesperson off of how things feel, rather than based on reality. With a CRM, key metrics will be defined that allow leaders to point their teams in the right direction of the actions that lead to new business.

Do you ever feel like a hamster frantically running around a cage? You're doing all kinds of tasks from sunup to sundown, but at the end of the day, you feel like you’ve made absolutely zero progress. Are you Bill Murray living in Groundhog Day? Is it a new day, but the same old problems? If this sounds like your daily reality, this article is for you. While it may sound counterintuitive, I’ve found that the best way to speed up in life is to first slow down.

Being a business owner is an intense and unique experience, filled with both triumphs and challenges. As you consider exiting your business, it’s crucial to address the emotional side of this transition. Discover strategies for managing your feelings, envisioning your future, and finding support during this significant life change.

As a Baby Boomer business owner, you suddenly find yourself facing decisions that once seemed impossibly far down the road. You probably never sat down and proactively planned your own exit from the company you worked so hard to create. Too many baby boomer business owners are losing out on millions in potential exit proceeds from being well prepared to sell.

Whether we believe it or not, we are all creative at heart. We are all capable of creating things that are unique to who we are and what we love to do.

What does a book about the battles of the creative process have to do with my company?

I’ve watched some business owners become comfortable with what they’ve built and become complacent and uninspired.

If you can find ways to continue to stretch your mind, body, and spirit, it will translate into every facet of your life.

Sometimes the best way to feel alive and to stimulate creativity and what makes us human is to feel a little scared. When we sense that risk, it brings a focus that is often lost in the distraction of our technology-infused world.

And so my challenge to you is…

Many of the brightest visionaries and business owners I know have gotten to where they are on pure grit, intuition, and hard work. However, the time comes when they are ready to reach even higher heights, and leveraging data into information can supercharge the journey. 

Shifting from collecting under explored data to arming you and your business with this predictive information empowers you to tweak your business operations in real-time rather than waiting for next month to see your financial results or worse yet never doing this analysis in the first place.

If you’re frustrated about scaling beyond what you can personally do or wanting to take a vacation without worrying about the plant burning down while you’re gone, or simply want to leave at 3 to coach your child’s sports team? How do you build a team that shoulders the load with the same discipline and accountability that you bring to the table?

The biggest, most impactful decision most founders and business owners will make is also the decision they seem to avoid the longest. How will you exit your business? Here at Doescher Group, we help you face that question on your terms.