Who we work with

Businesses built to stay.

We work with owner-operated and privately held businesses of 5 to 500 people that count success in more than just money. If you’re building something your town will still depend on in twenty years, we’d like to help.

Red sandstone canyon walls opening to a blue sky

Seven things, and we look for all of them

The Common Good standard.

Before we talk about an engagement, we talk about fit. These are the seven things we look for.

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These seven points align us on values we hold in common. They’re rarely put into words, and few of us were ever asked to think them through, because it isn’t what Milton Friedman taught us about business. Business got reduced to one question: did you make money? We work with businesses where these seven points resonate at a minimum, and at best are adopted. Companies that care about these things are our ideal fit.

Owner operated: You still hold the decisions. You care about the craft of your work and you’re connected directly to your stakeholders. You sign your name to your work, because quality still means something to you.
You measure success differently: The impact your business has on your employees, your customers and the land you work on, and whether you make a profit, all carry equal weight.
Rooted in a place: You know your town and you plan to stay in it. You know your employees, customers and the land you’re on, you know how you matter to your community, and you want to make it a better place.
Solving a worthy problem: Your work brings real value to your community. It meets real needs so your community can flourish, and it doesn’t win at the cost of people, neighbors or land. It’s good work.
Work is good: Work is a creative act. It’s where you bring the best of yourself and the people you lead, to build your community. It’s worth doing well.
Scale is a tool: Growth is something you use. You don’t serve it. You care about what enough looks like, and you can say it.
Built to hold: You’re playing the long game. If the real reason for the work is a higher price at sale, we’re the wrong partner.

Measuring success

Four measurements of success.

Most businesses only measure profit. We take a broader perspective, and we measure all four next to the hours saved.

Human
How your people are doing. Tenure, turnover, and whether they’d tell a friend to work for your company.
Social
How your customers and your community are doing, and what your business puts back into the town.
Natural
How the land is doing. Is the ground better or worse than when you got it?
Financial
Whether you’re making a profit. It matters, and it’s one of four measurements.