Small Business Consultant in Grand Rapids, MI
Take your weekends back. You built the business — now it runs you. We sit down in your shop, find where the money and the hours are leaking, and leave you with a plan your team can actually run.
Busy, Profitable On Paper, And Tired
Most owners call us when two or three of these are true at once.
Everything goes through you
Quotes, hiring, the schedule, the angry customer. Take a week off and the phone does not stop.
Revenue is up, the bank balance isn't
Sales grew twenty percent and somehow there is less cash at the end of the month than there was before.
Your prices haven't moved in years
Materials and wages went up. Your price list stayed the same because raising it felt risky.
The team is stuck at the same size
Every new hire takes more of your time than they give back, so you stopped hiring.
Nothing is written down
How to do the job lives in two people's heads, and one of them is thinking about retiring.
You want to grow, sell or step back
You know where you want to be in five years. You don't have a plan that gets you there from Monday.
Advisors Who Have Run Small Businesses
Pelliver is three advisors who spent the first half of our careers owning and running businesses here in West Michigan — a print shop, a landscaping company and a family distribution business. We started advising because we kept being asked the same questions over coffee.
We work with owners of businesses between five and fifty people. Big enough that you can't do it all yourself, small enough that there's nobody else to ask. We come to your shop, learn how the work actually gets done, and fix the few things that matter most first.
- ✓Former owners, not career consultants
- ✓Fixed fees — you know the cost before we start
- ✓One advisor stays with you start to finish
Services & Fees
Every engagement is a fixed fee, agreed in writing before we start. Most owners begin with the health check.
Not sure where to start? That's what the free 30-minute call is for.
Tell Us What Keeps You Up At Night
We'll tell you honestly whether it's something we fix, and what it would cost.
From First Call To A Plan That Runs
Free Call
Thirty minutes on the phone or at your shop. You'll leave knowing what we'd look at first and what it costs.
Health Check
Two days with you and your team, plus your last two years of numbers. A written report within a week.
Fix The Top Three
We work through the three problems costing you most, side by side with you and your managers.
Monthly Check-In
Optional. One meeting a month to keep the plan honest and the numbers moving the right way.
Know Where Every Dollar Goes
Most owners get a profit-and-loss statement once a quarter and look at the bottom line. We turn your books into one page you check every Monday: cash in the bank, cash coming, what each job actually made, and the three numbers that tell you whether the week went well.
No new software. We work from whatever your bookkeeper already uses.
- ✓A one-page weekly scorecard
- ✓Margins by job, customer and service
- ✓A cash forecast thirteen weeks out
What Changes, And When
Week 2 — You Know The Problem
The health check report lands. Five problems, ranked, each with a dollar figure next to it.
Week 4 — Prices And Cash Are Fixed
New prices are live and the cash forecast is running. Most owners see the difference in the next month's bank balance.
Week 8 — You Stop Being The Bottleneck
Decisions have owners, the weekly meeting is running, and the phone stops ringing for things someone else can answer.
Week 12 — A Plan For The Next Three Years
One page, three priorities a quarter, and a team that knows what they are.
Businesses Like Yours
Trades & Contractors
HVAC, electrical, roofing and remodeling companies ready to grow past the owner's truck.
Manufacturers & Shops
Machine shops, cabinetmakers and fabricators juggling quotes, capacity and hiring.
Food & Hospitality
Restaurants, bakeries, caterers and breweries where margins are thin and every price matters.
Retail & Online Stores
Shops selling in person and online, wrestling with stock, seasonality and cash tied up on shelves.
Clinics & Practices
Dental, physical therapy and vet practices where the owner is also the busiest provider.
Service Businesses
Cleaning, landscaping, salons and agencies that have outgrown the way they started.
Questions Owners Ask First
How much does it cost?
Every engagement is a fixed fee, listed above and agreed in writing before we start. No hourly billing, no surprise invoices. Most owners begin with the $2,400 health check.
How much of my time does it take?
About half a day in the first week, then an hour or two a week while we work on the top three problems. We do the legwork; you make the decisions.
Do you only work in Grand Rapids?
We're based downtown and work in person across West Michigan — Holland, Kalamazoo, Muskegon and the lakeshore. We also work with owners elsewhere in Michigan over video, with one visit on site.
Is this confidential?
Completely. We sign a confidentiality agreement before you share a single number, and we never discuss clients with anyone — including other clients in the same industry.
What if it doesn't work?
Then we'll say so early. The health check is a fixed fee with a written report inside a week, so you know exactly what you're getting before you commit to anything bigger — and there's never a long contract to escape from.
We're only five people. Are we too small?
No — five to fifty is exactly who we work with. At five people, the fixes are usually pricing and cash; at thirty, they're usually structure and systems.
Begin With A Health Check
Two days, one written report, and the five things holding your business back — ranked by what they cost you.
Book A Free 30-Minute Call
Tell us a little about your business and what's in the way. We'll reply within one business day with a couple of times.
- Visit us40 Pearl Street NW, Suite 310, Grand Rapids, MI 49503
- Call us(616) 555-0142
- Email ushello@pelliveradvisory.com