Insights

A deeper dive into what drives middle market success in Family and Private Equity owned companies.

Our team of experienced, multi-industry veterans at FortéOne have assisted hundreds of middle market businesses, just like yours. We hope you find their insights interesting and valuable for your company.

 

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Article

7 lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic in the food manufacturing industry

In recent years, there has been a focus in the food industry on lean practices, eliminating operational waste and redundancies, …

Article

6 Steps to Professionalize Your Sales Organization

As a sales organization grows, there often comes a breaking point where individual team members can no longer move the …

Article

7 signs profits are dipping because of poor supply chain management

When it comes to increasing profits, most middle market companies focus on sales. While certainly important, the fastest way to …

Article

The Position of Choice

The Founder’s Trap occurs when a leader is so essential to a company’s day-to-day operations that the business requires their continued daily involvement to sustain and grow. Until they escape that role, the Position of Choice will remain out of reach. …

Article

Seven Signs Your Company Performance Is a Real Problem

Every business experiences dips in profits and stalled growth throughout its lifecycle. Though nerve-racking, these natural ebbs and flows in …

Article

3 Ways Middle Market Construction Companies Can Improve Financial Performance

In the construction industry, the finance and accounting functions of middle market companies often operate in a way that results …

Article

Six Signs Your Portfolio Company Needs Leadership Assistance

In a perfect world, private equity investors are able to sit back after purchasing a promising portfolio company and wait …

Article

The End of Globalization: Creating Value in a Storm

The fourth piece in our “End of Globalization” series discusses the challenges (and ways forward) for creating enterprise value in uncertain times. …

Article

Why leadership alignment is so important and how to achieve it

The global marketplace is incredibly competitive, and it is getting harder and harder for middle market businesses to compete. While …

Article

Recruiting in the Great Resignation

The pandemic has created a significant shift in the relationship between employee and employer. During the height of the pandemic, …

Article

How to grow your business by growing your base of loyal customers

  When most middle market business owners think of growth, they think of sales or profit growth. But in reality, …

Article

“Air Cover” for the Poor Performers and Uninformed

Fortunately for all the mediocre performers out there, there’s a sea of excuses coming for you to hide behind. I …

Article

The End of Globalization: Leadership in a Perfect Storm of Disruption

The third piece in our “End of Globalization” series discusses the tough road ahead for Middle Market business leaders. …

Article

Are you still trying to beat the competition? Snap out of it!

19% of the Fortune 100 Fastest Growing Companies scaled through category creation – and they captured 51% of the cumulative …

Article

The End of Globalization: Information and the Middle Market

The second piece in our “End of Globalization” series highlights the need for quality Information for Middle Market business leaders. …

Article

How to become a Market Disruptor with the FortéOne Accelerator

Historically, it was thought that competitive advantage came from having superior products, faster delivery times or cheaper pricing. For decades, that business strategy proved to be effective, but today businesses can no longer survive using these tactics. …

Article

The End of Globalization: What the Invasion of Ukraine Signals to Your Middle Market Business and How to Prepare

The first piece in our “End of Globalization” series highlights specifically the impact the Ukraine-Russian conflict will have on Middle Market business leaders. …

Article

Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast, But the Category Leader Consumes All

We’ve all heard the famous Peter Drucker saying “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” This means that the Culture of your company …

Article

Why Some Leaders Fail to Scale Their Business

Most leaders today strive to scale their business. And why not? Bringing in more revenue and increasing the value of …

Article

Demystify Change Management in the Middle Market Before you go Extinct

It is a full-time job to lead a company and a full-time job to change it. Seeking outside help for Change Management initiatives means that you are ready to take your Middle Market business to the next level. …

Article

How middle market construction companies can unlock millions in cash

It is rare for a middle market construction company to have company-wide visibility into cash flow in a way that …

Article

Financial metrics and reporting best practices in the construction industry

Profit fade has been plaguing the construction industry for years. Companies start the year with high expectations, but as individual …

Article

Middle Market Manufacturing: How to Create Impactful Change

Across the U.S. Midwest from the end of WWII to the 1980s, most towns and cities had multiple middle market …

Article

5 Instances Where Creating a New Business Strategy is Worth the Investment

For some middle market business owners, the thought of creating a new business strategy makes them want to pull their …

Case Study

$80MM MEP Contractor

Working with the President and Family Board to define and implement changes required to enable growth at increase profits …

Article

Why Strategy is Essential to Privately Held Company Success

In our work, we have met owners and management teams at hundreds of privately held middle market companies. Most all …

E-Book

The Art and Science of Acquisition Integration

Successful integration of multiple companies is one of the most complex projects any business leader can undertake. We have worked …

Article

How family-owned, middle market businesses can prepare their business for sale

You may think that running your business and preparing it for sale require different skill sets, and for some companies …

Article

Can a Virtual Middle Market Business Transformation Program be Successful?

Given the reduction or even elimination of brick and mortar presence for middle market businesses during the pandemic, an experienced partner in virtual transformation is the asset you may not have known you need. …

Article

The Evolution of Procurement to Spend Management

Companies large and small underestimate the importance of effective procurement management. Over the years, we have seen that most of …

Article

Inventory Planning and Optimization

Inventory and the Middle Market Middle Market companies often have a love/hate relationship with inventory. Inventory provides a feeling of …

E-Book

Preparing Your Private Business for Sale

Once you officially begin the process, selling your business can take between six and nine months, on average, to complete. …

E-Book

Maximizing Manufacturing Margins with Value Engineering

Manufacturers large and small all hope to achieve the same thing: manufacture more products, with higher margins. Of course, in …

Case Study

$280MM Industrial Building Manufacturing & Construction

Understanding how to manage the complex relationship and decision-making structures inherent in multiply family ownership businesses. …

Case Study

$260MM Snack Food Manufacturer

Working alongside business owners and Investment Bankers to implement change and demonstrate improvements that add value. …

Case Study

$200MM Food Manufacturer and Co-Packer

Effective solutions and rapid implementation to turn around declining performance and train management on how to sustain long-term improvements. …

Case Study

$85MM Protein Manufacturer

Working with the Family Board to return company to profitable status in order to sell at the highest value. …

Case Study

$35MM Sugar-free Bakery that Ships Frozen Products Nationally

Partnering with ownership and management to rapidly improve sales and operating results to maximize company value. …