Recently, we had a conversation with an individual who was told by his leadership he would not receive a raise for the perceived market value of his position due to that raise making them a higher-paid teammate than the president or owner of the business. 

Lazaro Montoto (Laz) is the founder and owner of Tropical Grille and part owner of Tipsy Taco. Laz came to Greenville 14 years ago from Miami to build his concept of a fast, healthy, affordable restaurant. He and his wife Shadid now have 12 Tropical Grille locations and two new locations coming to Charleston and Charlotte, NC. Tipsy Taco has 8 locations in the Upstate and North Carolina.

You can find more about Laz at eattg.com and tipsytaco.net 

Alan Ethridge is the Executive Director of the Metropolitan Arts Council (MAC) and has been a part of MAC since 2004. Alan serves on the Board of Directors of the Greenville Convention & Visitors Bureau and Artisphere and is on the Board of Governors for the Greenville Chamber of Commerce and Board of Advisors of the Department of Visual Arts at Greenville Tech. You can see why I call him Captain Greenville. On top of all that, Alan is a very close friend of mine personally and has been for over 18 years.

You can find more about the Alan and Metropolitan Arts Council at greenvillearts.com 

Ryan McAllen is an old friend and someone I truly believe is a master storyteller, communicator, and presenter. Ryan has spoken at the Hall of Men, Anderson Classical Conversations Kickoff in 2020 and 2021, participated and spoke in a decade of RESTFest conferences, and he teaches Sunday School for 7 - 12-year-olds and teens. Any talk that I have witnessed with Ryan he commands the room. Ryan was an avid East Coast Swing dancer but now is an up-and-coming pickleball powerhouse. Ryan can give you a lesson or two on pickleball if you’re up for a game.

Stephen Stokes is the President of Stokes & Company Certified Public Accountants and PaySmart Payroll Services. Stephen has been doing this for over 18 years and specializes in Small Business Accounting, Business Management and Consulting, Mergers and Acquisitions, and more. Stephen is a board member of several local non-profit organizations, was recognized with Bob Jones University’s Distinguished Alumni Award, and is on the national board of directors of PASBA: Professional Association of Small Business Accountants.

You can find more about Stephen and Stokes & Company at StokesCPAS.com

In order to hand off a high level of deliverables, a solid working relationship is key. Trust me, I have seen this so many different ways over the past 20+ years and it was a continuous debate between service agency and client that was super unproductive and frustrating on both ends. Not including all the wasted (yes, wasted) time logging hours, estimating hours, justifying hours, not billing hours, or even writing off hours - which then leads to conversations with management about "why didn't we bill those hours?" Again, this only wastes productive time for the client and agency on real problems to solve.

Value-based vs hourly based work moves the relationship more towards either:

1. Client: What is the least amount of hours I can pay for this work?
2. Service Agency: How many hours can I bill for this work?

Both of these mindsets from either the service provider or the client soil the relationship and move the conversation away from achieving the desired results of the work. We prefer to focus on getting expectations met and exceeded, not jostling over how many hours it should or should not take to do said work.

Brian Walsh is the President and Founder of Progressive Properties of Greenville, a full-service residential property management company in Greenville, SC. Brian has been in the construction business for over 20 years and leading PPOG for over 13 years managing over 400 units. His co-owner, wife, and my cousin Heather have built this management company from the ground up with Brian. Brian’s team is a group of carefully-selected industry professionals with a wealth of knowledge, field training, and hands-on experience. Brian and Heather manage properties, sell rent-ready houses, project manage, and partner with investors.

You can find more about Brian and Progressive Properties of Greenville at propgreenville.com 

Analysis and planning first are like going to the doctor for your health needs or to the mechanic for your car issues. You tell the expert the problems or symptoms you are experiencing, and they use their proficient knowledge in their field to provide you with a recommended path of next steps. If we merely gave clients costs and web tactics right away before an analysis, that would be arrogant and irresponsible of us as a business. That would be like getting a prognosis, prescription, or healthcare plan from your doctor before doing a check-up and running tests on you first.

Jennifer Sutton is the founder and CEO of Bright+Co and OrangeWip. Jennifer guides businesses in strategic planning, media buying and planning, market research and analysis. Jennifer has been doing this for decades and I have personally known Jennifer for over 17 years. Jennifer has been recognized locally and nationally for her leadership and expertise. Here are just a few of Jennifer’s accolades:

• Excellence Award, Greenville Chamber of Commerce
• One of the 50 Most Creative CEOs to Watch, Insights Success Magazine
• B2B Marketer of the Year, Business Marketing Association Carolinas
• 2020 Women of Influence, Greenville Business Journal

You can find more about Jennifer and her business solutions at BrightCoMarketers.com and at OrangeWip.com