Business Assessment
Forge & Essence
Forge & Essence
GROW BEYOND THE GUESSWORK. We provide builders with the AI-powered tools and systematic approach needed to eliminate wasted marketing dollars, attract ideal clients, and build a truly predictable engine for profitable growth.GFby Grant Fuellenbach
OVERALL IMPRESSION
Christine is operating a very young, solopreneur design-build firm specializing in high-end bathroom remodels. She's passionate about the design and client interaction but is significantly challenged by lead generation, financial stability (living off savings), and a lack of business systems. Her current revenue is very low, and her ambitious profit goals require a dramatic business transformation. She explicitly dislikes and avoids the "behind the scenes technical things" like creating SOPs, which is a core area GO First addresses.
Current Stage:
Based on her revenue ($75,000 TTM), being the sole employee, and her challenges, Christine's business, Forge and Essence Design Build, is unequivocally in the Solopreneur Stage (or early "Startup" if viewed aspirationally but current reality is Solopreneur). She is the primary (and only) doer, wearing all hats.
Table of contents
Table of contents
Key Business Challenges
Challenges Currently Holding the Business Back
Lead Generation
Stated explicitly as her "Biggest Challenge Overall," "Biggest Bottleneck" ("Finding clients"), what's "Holding Her Back" ("Not enough projects"), and her "Magic Wand" wish ("More potential clients").
Financial Viability
She's "living off of savings" and wants to "pay myself a real salary." Her current net profit ($9,000 TTM) is insufficient.
Lack of Systems & Processes
SOP documentation is a "1/5" (Not at all/No SOPs) and stored "In my head." She explicitly states she "hates building office manuals, protocols, check list or forms" and wants help with these "behind the scenes technical things."
Owner Dependency
As the sole person, "Work stops" if she's unavailable. All key functions (sales, marketing, PM, finance) are handled by "Me."
Cash Flow
While AR isn't an issue (due to low volume), "Cash Flow" is cited as something that would "break" if she landed multiple projects. She also has "no cash flow forecast."
Pricing/Profitability Strategy
While her stated Gross (17%) and Net (12%) margins aren't disastrously low for a solopreneur if volume were high, coupled with extremely low volume ($75k revenue), they result in very low actual profit. Losing deals on "Price" suggests a possible disconnect between her "high-end" positioning and what clients are willing to pay, or an inability to effectively communicate value.
Hidden Revenue Leaks +
Operational Bottlenecks
Operational Bottlenecks
(The BIG 4: Time, Money, Teams, Systems)
Time
Owner's Time Allocation:
30% Sales/Marketing,
40% PM/Field Ops,
20% Financial/Admin,
10% Strategic,
0% Team Mgt.
40% PM/Field Ops,
20% Financial/Admin,
10% Strategic,
0% Team Mgt.
- Gap/Leak: While 30% on S&M seems reasonable, its effectiveness is clearly low given the lead generation problem. The 10% on Strategic is positive for a solopreneur, but the lack of systems means much of her operational time is likely inefficient.
Revenue & Margin Gaps
Revenue Leaks:
- Lost Deals due to Price: Suggests potential leaks where value isn't effectively communicated, or pricing isn't structured to capture the value of "high-end, personalized" service.
- Low Project Volume: The biggest "leak" is simply the lack of sufficient revenue-generating projects.
- Sub-Optimal Gross Margin (17%): For "high-end" work, this might be lower than achievable if systems for estimating, job costing, and change orders were robust. Her change order effectiveness is only "3/5."
Operational Bottlenecks
- Lack of Cash Flow Forecasting: Operating blindly month-to-month.
- Relying on Savings: Indicates current operations aren't self-sustaining financially.
- Low Marketing Investment ($100/month): While understandable with low cash flow, this likely perpetuates the low lead volume.
Team
Structural Gaps:
- No Redundancy/Scalability: Complete owner dependency.
- No System for Future Hires: While not hiring yet, the lack of any documented processes makes future onboarding and delegation nearly impossible without significant prior systemization.
Bottleneck: Her personal capacity is the ultimate limit on volume and growth.
Systems & Process Gaps
Processes:
- SOPs Non-Existent (1/5): This is a massive structural gap and the root of many potential inefficiencies and future scaling problems. Storing processes "In my head" is unsustainable and unscalable. This is what she explicitly wants GO First to solve.
- Sales Process: While she outlines steps, its effectiveness is questionable given low volume and losing deals on price. Her reported conversion rates (L-A 80%, A-P 70%, P-C 60%) seem very high for the outcome (2 projects, $75k revenue) and might be based on very few leads, or not accurately tracked.
- Project Management: Using "Spreadsheets," projects "Sometimes" over budget/schedule. Indicates lack of robust PM systems. Change order process is informal ("Verbally and through email") and only moderately effective.
- Financial Management: Weekly review is good, but no cash flow forecasting.
Platforms (Technology):
- Sales/Marketing Tech: Not specified, but likely minimal given the marketing spend and solopreneur status.
- PM/Ops Tech: "Spreadsheets." Lack of dedicated PM software.
- Gap: Limited use of technology to create efficiency or leverage data.
- People (Processes for managing people): Not applicable yet, but the lack of overall systemization makes future team building a major hurdle.
Growth & Goal Analysis
3-5 Year Goals & Pace
1-Year Vision: Netting $60k-80k
- Current Net Profit (TTM): $9,000.
- Analysis: To achieve $60k net, assuming her current 12% net margin holds (which is optimistic without system improvements), she would need $500,000 in revenue ($60,000 / 0.12). This is a 6.7x increase in revenue from $75,000 in one year.
- To achieve $80k net, she'd need $667,000 in revenue.
Is she on pace? Absolutely not. Without a radical transformation in lead generation, sales conversion (of truly ideal projects), operational efficiency to handle volume, and pricing/margin improvement, this goal is unattainable in 12 months.
3-Year Vision: Netting $150k-250k.
- Analysis: To achieve $150k net (at 12% margin) requires $1,250,000 revenue. To achieve $250k net requires $2,083,000 revenue.
Owner Freedom Vision: "I want to continue to have an active part. I do not want to just make money, I love the process and working with people."
- Analysis: This is positive. She's not looking for a passive income stream but wants to be actively involved in her passion. "Owner freedom" for her might mean freedom from financial stress, freedom from "behind the scenes technical things" she dislikes, and the freedom to focus on the creative/client-facing aspects she enjoys. This aligns well with what systemization can offer.
(IRC) Summary
IRC's (Issues, Roadblocks, and Challenges)
Issue 1: Critically Low Lead Generation & Sales Volume
The primary and most urgent issue.
- Roadblock: Ineffective marketing, undefined lead generation system, potentially unclear value proposition communication (given lost deals on price).
- Challenge: Generating a consistent flow of qualified leads for "high-end" projects.
Issue 2: Financial Instability & Unprofitability at Current Scale
Living off savings, insufficient profit.
- Roadblock: Low volume, potentially sub-optimal gross margins for the "high-end" niche, pricing strategy.
- Challenge: Achieving consistent, predictable profitability that allows for a proper owner's salary and business reinvestment.
Issue 3: Lack of Foundational Business Systems (No SOPs)
Processes are ad-hoc and in her head.
- Roadblock: Explicit dislike/avoidance of creating systems.
- Challenge: Inability to operate efficiently, ensure consistent quality, scale, or ever delegate effectively. This is a major risk.
Issue 4: Complete Owner Dependency
Business revolves entirely around her.
- Roadblock: Solopreneur status with no current team or systems for delegation.
- Challenge: Creating a business that can function and grow beyond her personal capacity.
Issue 5: Mindset/Skill Gap in Business Operations
Passion for design/build is high, but aversion to "technical" business management aspects (systems, SOPs, potentially financials despite stated confidence).
- Roadblock: Her stated dislike for creating these essential business components.
- Challenge: Embracing the necessity of these functions for business health and achieving her stated financial goals.
Critical Business Metrics
Company's Estimated "12 Critical Numbers"
Business Diagnostic Summary
10-Point Business Diagnostic Summary (Key Findings)
Strategic Clarity (ICP/USP)
"Fully Defined" ICP stated, but actual lead flow and losing on "price" for "high-end" work suggests a potential disconnect between perceived clarity and market reality/messaging. Needs validation.
Lead Generation & Marketing
Critically insufficient. Primary challenge. Minimal investment, unclear ROI.
Sales Process & Conversion
High self-reported conversion percentages, but extremely low actual sales volume. Process is owner-dependent. Needs effective systemization.
Financial Performance & Stability
Currently unsustainable. Low revenue and profit, reliance on savings. Margins (17% GPM, 12% NPM) need improvement through volume and potentially better pricing/cost control for the niche.
Cash Flow Management
No forecasting, variable cash on hand. High risk, especially if volume increases.
Project Management & Operations
Basic (spreadsheets), informal change orders, occasional budget/schedule slips. Lacks systemization for consistency and efficiency.
SOP Systemization
Almost non-existent (1/5). This is a fundamental gap preventing efficiency, consistency, and scalability. Client wants this solved by GO First.
Team & Scalability
Solopreneur model. Complete owner dependency limits growth. No systems for future hiring or delegation.
Owner's Role & Well-being
High operational involvement, living off savings. Current state doesn't align with her desire for a "real salary" or focusing on creative work.
Growth Potential & Goal Alignment
Ambitious and motivating financial goals ($60-80k net in 1 yr). Current trajectory will not achieve these goals without significant, foundational changes across all business areas. Her desire for GO First to handle "behind the scenes technical things" is a perfect match for the MAP™.