Josh Schultz is a master of SMB Operations. This episode is a deep dive into SMB Operations and how Josh analyzes businesses in order to optimize operations to greatly scale SMB's. They discuss his journey of joining his father's company, expanding into the Mexico market, living in China to learn the nuances of the international supply chain and manufacturing practices before ultimately leading the sale of the business and his current role as an SMB ops consultant. They also discuss prioritizing KPI's, beneficial softwares for SMB's and his forthcoming cohort for business owners led by him and previous FORT guest Rich Jordan. Enjoy!

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Learn more about Chris Powers & Fort Capital: https://www.FortCapitalLP.com
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00:05 - Joshua’s Background and Career

03:25 - What was the state of the company when you joined your father?

06:36 - What’s unique about how you look at businesses?

08:00 - What systems and processes did you implement to benefit the company?

10:37 - How did your process of systemizing communication & Information help with growth?

11:21 - How did you implement a culture of adopting technology?

13:27 - Expanding into Mexico

16:36 - Living in China and Learning the International Nature of Supply Chain

21:24 - What’s the playbook for a new business owner that needs to start working with China?

23:22 - What is “The Chinese Way”?

26:50 - The Process of Selling the Business in 2019

31:07 - Why does every small business not see these obvious operations optimizations?

36:22 - What type of businesses do you specialize in with your consulting?

40:25 - How do you create an environment where employees feel comfortable bringing operational frustrations to your desk?

42:14 - Prioritizing What to Tackle First

47:28 - Should every business have a way to submit anonymous feedback?

48:33 - How should people decide what software to use in a no-code world with limitless options?

Bubble: https://bubble.io/

Trello: https://trello.com/

Glide: https://www.glideapps.com/

Zapier: https://zapier.com/

50:21 - How do you know what KPI’s matter?

The 4 Disciplines of Execution: https://www.franklincovey.com/the-4-disciplines/

57:01 - How do you hold people accountable for KPI’s?

58:38 - Why does nobody look at dashboards?

1:00:29 - SMB Cohort w/ Rich Jordan - Crucible

1:05:46 - 90% of Business is Boring!!

1:08:33 - How and Why to ask questions

1:11:57 - What’s next for Joshua?

1:17:31 - What are the biggest mistakes from an ops perspective that most SMB’s make?

1:21:05 - What’s the bridge between Sales and Operations?

1:22:14 - What happens at a business where your skillset is no longer valuable?

1:23:49 - Is there a great ops book you recommend?

Plain Talk by Ken Iverson: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1450374.Plain_Talk

The Outsiders: Eight Unconventional CEOs and Their Radically Rational Blueprint for Success By William Thorndike: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13586932-the-outsiders

1:25:50 - Do you have an operational person you look up to?

1:26:40 - If you had a billboard you could put anything on, what would it say?

The FORT is produced by Straight Up Podcasts