Like dating the wrong boyfriend, I keep finding business turnaround situations without specifically targeting them. However, unlike human hardwiring, turnarounds can change! Since VenturePack focuses on growing businesses around the $1 to $5 million in revenues stage, this isn’t a wildly successful business story where it’s the more lucrative thing to do. If I had ever worked with a business coach, they would’ve likely quit on this subject alone. There will be no movies made about how at the end of the day everyone was OK, accounting transformed to ACCURATE, a tax return was FILED, a small investment or loan was MADE and the accounting team LIKED their jobs again.

Well, alright, there was a time that I kept a CEO from strangling a banker he felt insulted by, we likely did the smallest management buyout of the year and payroll cleared. The company did continue to grow for the next decade and they were my pride and joy. Or, there was that job where the first day began the same day the head of finance left without warning and payroll for 75 people was due. On the last day, I brought the fancy hard cheese to add to the client’s champagne as I handed over the reins of a fresh system to a newly hired controller (not to mention the new employee PTO policies.) The fixer, nurse, entrepreneur, CFO, engineer and the mother in me all get employed at once with these challenging companies. While my own accounting team now pitches in, smiling, groaning and learning tons while I obsess, all of us can’t help but wonder: “???”

I used to beat myself up and think it was an unusual circumstance to find myself in. If I’ve worked with you in one of these situations and we became lifelong friends, then your turnaround was pure joy. After a turnaround project was fully executed, I would vow to take a nap and focus on the clean, perfect fit type clients for VenturePack. The clients that have investors, growth strategy, have outgrown their bookkeeper and want to take their business to the next level with fully managed CFO and accounting solutions, turn-key.

Well, I think the truth is that I’m now mature enough to own the issue: I have broken wing syndrome. There will probably always be a mini-turnaround in the mix that could become a great long-term client or perhaps it was just for the season. If someone were to ask me what I think of when I hear the phrase “The Power of No,” I would immediately reply, “The Power of Yes!” I just can’t resist.