Introduction To Lawrence Appell & Associates
description
Transcript of Introduction To Lawrence Appell & Associates
1
Lawrence Appell & Associates
An Introduction and Services Offered
Lawrence Appell & Associates
About Us
Lawrence Appell & Associates is a performance improvement consultancy for multi-unit, direct-to-consumer service businesses.
The firm’s capability is built on the founder’s 35 years of experience in franchised and company-owned multi-unit operations across a range of industries for companies as large as $600MM and as small as $1MM.
Clients of the firm can expect clear guidance to: Increase volume Increase revenues Increase revenues per location Reduce expenses as % of revenue Improve marketing effectiveness and efficiency Increase variable margin Increase contribution margin per location Increase employee retention and satisfaction
Lawrence Appell & Associates seeks to become the Trusted Strategy Advisor for our clients.
Lawrence Appell & Associates2
Target Audience
Lawrence Appell & Associates3
Owners or senior managers of organizations with five to 500 geographically
dispersed units performing the same service for an identified consumer
audience
Annual revenues >$2 million
>50 Employees
An identified or perceived need to reverse negative trends or an opportunity to
grow through new unit count or by increasing volume/profits per unit
Open-minded leadership team
Typical Client Issues
Lawrence Appell & Associates4
Growth and Expansion Challenges
Underperformance
Feeling Like the Business is Out-Of-Control
Lack of Balance Between Personal Life and Business
Insufficient Leadership/Management Skills
Conflict With a Partner or Key Staff Person
Services Provided
Lawrence Appell & Associates5
Outsourced Chief Strategy Officer
CEO Forums
Appell Operating System (AOS) Implementation
Operational Studies
One-Off Projects
Sample Client Descriptions
6
Serve as Chief Strategy Officer for a chain of dental offices seeking to expand
throughout the Southwest.
Serve as Chief Strategy Officer for an on-line auction seller of surplus
merchandise for school districts that has returned $10MM in funds.
Serve as Chief Strategy Officer for a trade newspaper seeking to expand
beyond the southeast via franchising
Serve as Chief Strategy Officer for a multi-unit franchisee of a national for-
profit education tutoring service.
Lawrence Appell & Associates
The Trusted Strategy Advisor Provides More Value Than a Consultant
Lawrence Appell & Associates7
Adapted from Maister, David, The Trusted Advisor, Free Press, 2000.
About Lawrence Appell Lawrence Appell is a domestic and international consultant to multi-unit, direct-to-consumer service
businesses in the for-profit education/training, health, well-being and fitness and restaurant industries.
Mr. Appell is often referred to as the CEO’s Trusted Strategy Advisor due to his unique combination of skills and experience. Areas of expertise include operations management, business planning and analysis, new service development, leadership, performance management, process improvement, and budgeting and forecasting.
In his management career he led large geographically dispersed company-owned and franchised operations in the U.S., Europe and Asia to grow revenue, profit and customer satisfaction.
Prior to founding LAA, Mr. Appell held senior management positions for major franchised and non-franchised brands such as Weight Watchers, Pritikin, Sylvan Learning Centers, La Petite Academy and Mathnasium.
Over the course of his career Mr. Appell created and served as President of Westlake Management Co, LLC, a boutique investment firm which owned and operated both franchised and self-owned businesses. Holdings included Jamba Juice (two locations in Los Angeles), Mydashi Japanese restaurants (three locations in the San Francisco bay area), Pangea Wraps (Los Angeles) and Nic’s (a fine dining restaurant in Beverly Hills).
Mr. Appell serves on the board of directors for InterSchola, LLC. (www.interschola.com). InterSchola manages on-line auctions for school districts in the U.S. to retire surplus assets at the end of their financial life cycle. InterSchola returns a portion of each auction to the school district’s general fund.
Mr. Appell has a B.A in Psychology from the City University of New York and a M.S. in Counselor Education from St. John’s University (NY). He resides in Scottsdale, Arizona and can be reached at 818.219.4993.
Lawrence Appell & Associates8
Sample Career Achievements
9
For a For-Profit Education Company:
•Developed and implemented a strategic plan to reverse a three year revenue decline. Reduced the
number of declining properties from 65% of portfolio to 40% in nine months. Increased EBITDA 65%.
•Completed a customer segmentation analysis leading to new program, promotional and pricing. Increased
revenue per customer by 3-4% per year. Increased variable profit per classroom 15%.
•Increased sales conversion rates from prospects to tours to 41% from 35% in two years and increased
overall conversion rates from prospects to enrollments by 35%.
For a Start-Up Health Club Concept:
•Negotiated leases at below market rates for 12,000 square foot facilities, designed space plans, managed
construction and purchased equipment while maintaining the business plan budget and timetable.
Designed work processes, recruited and trained professional and administrative staff.
For a Major Weight Loss Company:
•Developed and implemented a long‑range strategic plan to improve company operations. Revenue
increased from $55 to $100MM; Operating Income increased from $16 to $23MM.
•Established and implemented a strategy to manage growth via leased and sub‑leased locations. Total
number of locations grew by 350 in four years from 1,100 to 1,450 (450,000 square feet leased). Increased
average revenue per location by 62%.
Lawrence Appell & Associates
Our Process (How We See and Think About Organizations)
Lawrence Appell & Associates10
Strategic Foundations Operational Imperatives
Desired Outcomes+ =
Services Provided: Outsourced Chief Strategy Officer (CSO)
Lawrence Appell & Associates11
The CSO's role is to continuously examine the company as a whole and to provide guidance to the CEO on critical business questions like:
Should we be developing a new service option? When should we move into a new market? What companies should we consider acquiring? What is the best location for our service? Why is one region performing better than another? What is the proper role of technology in our business? Should we franchise?
The CSO deeply understands what makes the company successful and how it will continue to be successful in the future.
The CSO translates that knowledge into the ability to judge specific activities the company is undertaking and ensures that those activities are helping the company be successful.
The key value-add of the CSO is the ability to help the CEO ensure that decisions are in alignment with the company’s long-term objectives.
How Does the Dictionary Define “Strategy”?
Lawrence Appell & Associates12
Planning in any fielda carefully devised plan of action to achieve a goal, or the art of developing or carrying out such a plan; business strategy
Planning of Warmilitary the science or art of planning and conducting a war or a military campaign
Adaptation important to evolutionary successbiology in evolutionary theory, a behavior, structure, or other adaptation that improves viability
Outsourced Chief Strategy Officer (CSO)
Lawrence Appell & Associates13
The outsourced CSO is the CEO’s trusted strategy advisor and is “on-call” for the CEO.
Like the company’s attorney or accountant the outsourced CSO is knowledgeable about the company and can assist the CEO as needed.
Unlike the company attorney or accountant the outsourced CSO is not billing by the hour but is retained.
The outsourced CSO must become familiar with existing business plans and updated regularly on key performance reports including P&L’s and scorecards.
The outsourced CSO and the CEO have a scheduled time to meet each month.
Meetings take place in person, on the phone or on Skype.
Services Provided: CEO Forums
Lawrence Appell & Associates14
CEO Forums are opportunities to interact with other Lawrence Appell & Associates clients in any or all of the following events*:
Client Benchmarking Meetings held two times a year
Webinars on specific topics
Workshops and Seminars
*Clients do not pay a registration fee for access to these events
Services Provided: The Appell Operating System™
Lawrence Appell & Associates15
The Appell Operating System is a management process that engages the
leader/owner of the enterprise and his/her senior management team to achieve
a high level of functioning such that the enterprise is best aligned with and
serves the needs of the customer.
AOS is a multi-month process that requires a level of commitment
The outcomes of the AOS process are a high-functioning senior management
team that is capable of achieving target levels of revenue, profit, employee and
customer satisfaction.
The AOS Implementation Process
Lawrence Appell & Associates16
Other Services Offered
Lawrence Appell & Associates17
Operational Studies
From franchise feasibility studies to organizational diagnosis studies
One-Off Projects
Shorter term, well-defined projects
Contact Information
Lawrence Appell & Associates18
Office: 480.659.5143
Cell: 818.219.4993
E-mail: [email protected]