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Loren Baker of Profectus Business Consulting calls himself a trusted strategic advisor, walking alongside entrepreneurs from the trades to white-collar businesses and light manufacturing on three big ideas: team, money and time. He explains why hanging up a for-sale sign is a horrible idea, and why getting the owner out of the business so there is actually something to sell generally takes 18 to 24 months. Loren and Jethro also dig into why trust is so hard to build at a distance, and why the long-term relationship matters more than any single transaction.
Hosted by Jethro Jones of Optimization Doc. Discover more Spokane business conversations at Spokane Daily.
Spokane Daily tells the stories of how local people actually make a living. Join Jethro Jones, the Optimization Doc, for conversations with Spokane-area business owners about why they started, how their businesses make money, what's working, and what they're building next. From solo operators and family businesses to growing local companies, each episode goes inside the work: the people, numbers, decisions, and challenges behind the business. Hear practical lessons you can use, discover businesses worth knowing, and meet the people shaping Spokane's business community. When we talk about AI, we focus on what it means for local businesses.
Loren Baker: And so, you know, just anecdotally, I've been working with a guy out of Michigan for the last month and a half or so, a young guy working on some cool AI projects coming from the pain of his dad's business. And so from that pain, he's found a solution to take away some of that pain. And working with him has been great. And so, you know, candidly, that relationship, that person is not going to be a client for me, maybe for three, four, five years. And I don't care. I'm happy if he goes and he's successful. If I can help him on that journey. points going to remember the conversations we're having and I'll work with him or he'll give my name to somebody else.
Jethro Jones: Welcome to Spokane Daily. I'm your host, Jethro Jones. I run Optimization .com where I help businesses streamline so they are ready to sell or be a cash cow for the owner. Today we are talking with Lauren Baker of Perfectus Business Consulting. Welcome, Lauren. Great to have you here.
Loren Baker: Yeah, man. Great to be here, brother. It's always good to hang out with Yeah,
Jethro Jones: I agree. I have to briefly say, you and I met a couple of years ago, and it was one of those times where there was an instant connection. It was like, this is my kind of dude. And I'm so grateful that I met you back then. And then we didn't talk for a long time. And then you came to one of my events this summer. And it was awesome. And you were with a different company, Perfectus. And so I didn't know who it was. you were because you were just Lauren at Perfectis and then you got there and I was like, man, that guy looks so familiar and I can't place it. And then I saw your first interstate backpack and I was like, oh, that's who he is. So anyway, it's great getting back. Yeah, great getting back together with you. So tell us about Perfectis, what you do and who you do it for?
Loren Baker: Yeah, so So, perfectis really at the end of the day, so you hear this word coach a lot, consultant. Really what we do essentially is walk alongside an entrepreneur and kind of do with three big ideas which is team, money, and time. Those are generally the three things that business owners are struggling with. So we come alongside and help kind of strategize about that. One of the things I like to tell folks is I'm a trusted strategic advisor and those three words really describe what we do with our clients. We are strategic. We're thinking down the road. looking at the tree to actually get their head up and look at the forest. So there's some strategy. We are advising and what that means is we come in, we take a look at not just the business itself and the financials and those kinds of things, but we get into the head of the owner themselves, that entrepreneur, and that's kind of the coaching side. So that's like belief systems. Those are things that when you start a business at say 23, you grow it for a couple years, you're running it off your gut. Now you get to employee number seven and all of a sudden hiring and firing on doesn't work anymore. And so we help folks kind of figure out that transition. The clients we work with, Candlee Jethro or anything from trades, we've got a lot of trades folks think of gosh, electricians, plumbers, landscapers like those kinds of folks, but we also work with white collar businesses as well as light manufacturing. And so with those journeys, they look a little bit different. Sometimes it's a value acceleration. So folks are just trying to build value in that company over time before they exit. It could be, they just want to build value their kids. And so we come in alongside and help them sort of make those transition plans. One of the things that we do in our work and we see a lot is owners want to sell the business and they think I'm just going to hang up a sign that says for sale. And generally speaking that's a horrible idea. And the reason why is because you need to get the owner out of the business so you actually have something to sell. So in a nutshell, we come alongside entrepreneurs help them figure out their journey. And then the last piece of that trusted strategic advisor is that trusted piece. And really at the end of the day, Jethro, that's the truth is we get into the finances of somebody, we get into their head, and then we actually get into relationships too, meaning we connect them with the right people to move forward in their business. And so that's kind of in a nutshell what we do. We strive to be trusted strategic advisors.
Jethro Jones: Yeah, I like that. How do you give me some numbers on it? How much do you charge and you don't have to reveal things that you don't want to. But how much do you charge? What does it cost? When should somebody start thinking about this? And like, how big do they need to be for that to make sense? And then if somebody does want to sell, like, what's the time frame that you need that they need to be thinking about for that to happen?
Loren Baker: Yeah. So thinking a little bit about timeframe on that. So I'll answer that last because that's pretty easy. Really a couple it takes to kind of get you out of the business. If you're more ready, maybe a year to get ready, but generally 18 months to 24 to kind of get somebody ready to get out of the business. And the reason for that Jethro is coming in, maybe there's some systems in place. What we find is we need to get the entrepreneur to get what's in their head out on paper. So even though they could even have a good system and a good team, there's still a ton of stuff up here. So really, that year and a half to two years is getting that out and then really getting that structure you're organized. So that's kind of how we deal with that if you're exiting the business. Maybe you could rephrase that first question again. I want to make sure I answer it right.
Jethro Jones: Yeah. How does somebody know when it's right to come to you? And what kind of investment are they looking at to work with a strategic business advice?
Loren Baker: Yeah. So, you know, big high level is everybody should have mentors, coaches in their life, whether that's a paid person, and it's a group of friends you're hanging out with. So just at that level, everybody should do that. So the question, Jethra, as soon as you're thinking about starting a business, you need to start thinking about mentorship and coaching. That's just the honest of goodness truth. The other thing I'll say is sort of big picture is it's just like professional athletes. We need different coaches for different things at different times. And so someone may work with us for a couple years and it may make sense to do some value acceleration. And then maybe they're thinking more like legacy and estate planning and those things. And so maybe that's the time for them coach. All that to say, you should always be in relationships that are helping you grow and challenging you and different coaches for different times. So for us, a good and maybe I'll break it down this way. So kind of two big things we do. So individual clients. So this is about $2 ,500 a month. So these are generally businesses that have been say three to five years. They're probably doing more than a million dollars in annual revenue. They've probably grown a team from say three or four folks to maybe now they're getting to eight to 10. And so that's a great time to come in and they'll have questions like, man, we're growing like crazy. My revenue's gone up by half a million this year, but my profit went down. Those are indicators that you're doing a great job of understanding what you're doing in terms of the work, but the guts of the business, knowing your numbers, how you're making a profit needs work. So that's a great sort of clientele for us is when they've been hungry, they've grown and they really want to get to that next level and need some help and some expertise there. And then those are kind of our more premium one -to -one. And what that looks like in terms of the experience is you get a lot of one -to -one time, you know, two to three hours of just direct coaching together and then and some, a lot of stuff sort of around that. So that's the premium. And then we do group coaching as well. Generally these businesses are a little bit smaller, but not always. And what folks like about the group coaching is it's less money. That's number one. That's about $500 a month. And then you're on a cohort. And what we find is that not just going through your own head and having those questions and strategic planning, but just bouncing off ideas with other people in the room. And so what we do is we put entrepreneurs who are in similar places together. And they kind of work together for a while on these different things in terms of just having a conversation. You know, the word we'd use maybe is mastermind. That's kind of a popular thing. It's kind of that experience with our group coaching.
Jethro Jones: Yeah, great. are breaking that all down so people can see where they fit and where they might need help. I want to just double down on the idea of one having a coach or mentor and that is absolutely essential and that doesn't always need to be a paid person but paying somebody for that makes you value it a little bit more and that's really worthwhile as well. What is working really well in the business right now?
Loren Baker: Yeah, I think what's been working really well is leveraging our partnerships and so what I mean by that is sort of in our business we sort of have long -term value and we take a long time for us to earn that trust meaning because we're high value because we're not cheap to work with and because we're telling somebody hey give us money every month to help you make more money we've got to show that value. And so the way we do that, one of the main ways to be candid, Jethro is with partnership. We don't know everything, but what happens with our client is we kind of get into the weeds of them, do some discovery over a couple of months, we kind of dive into different mechanics of the business. And then we start to see, what's the game plan to move you forward? And every single time, Jethro, we can do all that work, all that analytics, look at P &Ls, look at SOPs, look at your strategy, I mean, all those things. do that or not. Like that's kind of what it comes down to. And where a consultant comes in like myself, like you said, is we get some skin in the game for you. So you're paying us to help you move forward. And when you have that ownership on that, what happens is you start to take ownership of your own business. And so we come alongside and have that accountability piece. And that's part of the mastermind is it's not just we're coming together and having good ideas. I can do that on a Saturday morning. Jethro, you and I can go spend two hours drink drink coffee and have a great time together and leave really with nothing practically to do just because we like each other. And so that's great, we wanna build a relationship but we want tactics as we come out of each of these relationships and these conversations.
Jethro Jones: Yeah, I love that. What is something that is harder than you feel like it should be right now?
Loren Baker: Yeah, I think, yeah, going back to the trust thing, I think it's really hard to build trust in our culture, just generally speaking. speaking. And I think I guess I'm not surprised it's hard, but it is definitely hard just to get in front of the right folks. So candidly, one of the things I've been with Perfectus just about a year, just over a year now, like 360, yeah, eight days. And coming in right, we have all these plans and goals to, you know, get it done for the year. And candidly, it's been tough. It's been hard with sort of the AI revolution. And what that means practically Is anybody who's doing data transfer, any education, we're all being impacted by this? I can see our competitors scrambling around trying to figure out how do we navigate this ability to really pump through data well and get some ideas and not lose this connection? And so the hard part, Jethro, it really has been, how do we translate the trust like you and I can get with a coffee over like literally a couple of years, get to know each other, get to know each other's families? How do we do that when it's distance, like if we want to grow in scale like we do? How do I get that trust with you over time on a Zoom call?
Jethro Jones: Yeah. So what are your ideas for improving trust? Because there's a great book called The Speed of Trust. Have you read that one?
Loren Baker: No, tell me Warren.
Jethro Jones: So it's by Stephen M .R. Covey and he talks about how you can build trust fast fast or rather not build trust fast. Building trust takes time no matter what, but once trust is there, then everything happens much faster. I may have butchered that, but anyway, it's a good
Loren Baker: book. There
Jethro Jones: are a lot of little strategies in there that I have that I've implemented over time, one of which is, is this phrase that I say regularly, which is once you and I enter into something, whether it's a one time thing or it's just a we're the way I look at it is that you and I are going to be connected for the next 10 years. And so by saying that in conversations to people early on in our relationship, we both start to think of it differently because it's not just, here's this one transaction I'm trying to complete. Rather, it is, here's this, this is the first step in our 10 year relationship, and maybe I'm paying you, maybe you're paying me, maybe I'm going to hire you, maybe you're we're going to not do anything transactionally together and we're just going to share ideas and then later we're going to write a book together or something. But the ideas in 10 years, we're still going to be connected and still going to have a relationship. And like that is one way that I do it to deepen that idea of we are connected for the long call.
Loren Baker: Man, it's so good. I always tell folks, you probably heard me use this phrase. I love transactions in the context of a relationship unashamed it. I want to earn your business I think people should coach with us versus our competitors not because they don't do great work But because we do better. I candidly we think we can do the best work So not ashamed of that at all and so thinking about building trust Yeah, it is a tough thing to do and so when I meet with somebody I always try to keep that transactional piece away like candidly just in my own I don't ever approach thinking I'm trying to get a sale or I'm trying to get something It's literally just go and I mean it sounds so silly But just go be a good listener and what I find when I'm just a good listener and ask good questions and really get to know the person in front of me Is like you said there's a relationship forming that may lead to some business exchange. It may lead to Bartering of some kind it may lead to just good conversations for 10 years but it's the long -term relationship that matters the most, right? Because you're going to get the transactions from that relationship and especially in, you know, with what you've done with some of your coaching and consulting. I mean, you've got to have that sort of longer -term view, I think. I think folks really sniff that out. They don't like it, especially when you're talking about high dollar amounts and they can sniff that you're just trying to make a nickel off them. That is really uncomfortable right away for folks. And so it's less about that transaction and more about that long -term gain. And I think that matters when you're building trust because the trust happens over time. It's layered on in a relationship. It's not one interaction. Usually it's multiple over time.
Jethro Jones: Yeah, for sure. Good discussion, man. I appreciate that. What should people in Spokane know about with you.
Loren Baker: Yeah, so biggest thing is it's all about partnership for me. So there's a couple different hats I wear from the perfected side sort of that deeper coaching consulting piece to B &I which is just networking it's referral network marketing and so if anybody if you want to know about me brother the word is partnership I love to connect folks it's my jam every meeting I leave I'm connecting folks up you've got some I know and because I believe that relationships matter in the end that we win together because of the shared So partnership if you want to connect with me easiest is just off LinkedIn Lauren Baker You can find my profile there. I don't carry business cards usually honestly because that forces me to reach out and do some other human things That's just my own strategy not that you should have business cards, but that's how I roll But LinkedIn is a great way to connect with me. You can get us on our website as well perfect as business calm But yeah, really it's partnership and then you know We sign all of our emails with us you know, all four of us at the company with two -year success. And that's not just a tagline. What that means is we're working for what you want. It's your journey. It's your business. We have expertise, connections, acumen, but it's your journey. So we come alongside you to figure out what your journey is and help you get it done.
Jethro Jones: Yeah, I love that. All right, rapid fire time before we close out.
Loren Baker: Let's go.
Jethro Jones: The best business decision you've ever made, Lauren.
Loren Baker: Yeah, best business decision was starting my own LLC about 20 months or no, that's not true. Yeah, about 20 months ago. And the reason is because that was a step of faith. And I was a coward for a long time and at 51, I finally got some courage and said, we're just going to hang that shingle. Don't know what I'm doing with it. But that would be the best decision because it's just opened my heart and mind to potential.
Jethro Jones: Yeah, that's, that's beautiful. I have a similar story there. That's good. business deserves a shout out man
Loren Baker: so good so a couple so one is a nonprofit so side by side man I love what they do they're all about everybody as a participant so you know in most organizations you have volunteers and like people who come or clients everybody's a participant that language is intentional you'll look up side by side they've got a football club that I volunteered at for a couple years that's soccer for you Americans don't know what that means but anyway Anyway, it's a great organization. They do some really cool stuff. I can always shout them up. They just got a new space over in West Central. So I know they need help just with putting it together, funds, people banging on hammers, that kind of thing, side by side, fantastic organization. And then in terms of local businesses, man, that is such a good question. There's so many good ones, Jeff, without pushing me on the spot, brother, I know hundreds of businesses. But I will point out, no, no, go ahead.
Jethro Jones: Well, how do you choose just one, but you got to choose just one. Let's hear it.
Loren Baker: I know, man. So I'm going to pick a guy. His name is Jeffrey Bird. He is an amazing dude. He has a company called Dynamic Print. It's kind of all the accessories and little things that you'd want for your business, business cards to signage to the big feather things outside to printing. So all the kind of tangible stuff that you get with the business pens, that kind of thing. of it that's called Spokane Catholic and the reason I want to shout Jeffrey out is because his heart is all about connecting and he's created for Catholics but it's really for the whole community to just connect on business and find trusted people and I just love his heart I can tell you that that guy has made some businesses work for people just because he's connected and so I shout that guy out dynamic print solutions if you just want you know some cards or pens give that guy a as a call. He's all about connecting our local community, man.
Jethro Jones: Awesome. Well, he sounds like somebody that should be on this podcast also.
Loren Baker: He would
Jethro Jones: be
Loren Baker: amazing.
Jethro Jones: I hope you'll connect me to him and have him come on.
Loren Baker: All
Jethro Jones: right. And last question, what do you want to accomplish in the last, in the next 12 months?
Loren Baker: Yeah, I think the next 12 months, um, gosh, so I've got a soccer site I've been working on for a couple of years. that's cost me a lot of money I would like to maybe monetize that and not to make anything but just to cover my monthly cost because it's a passion project and then next 12 months you know my wife and I are looking to buy some land and maybe start this dream of having sort of a retreat center for folks not anything real fancy you know just a place where you can go and like we keep saying you get your hands in the dirt more and a little bit less on plastic and I think that's good for everybody. So the next 12 months, hopefully we're positioning ourselves in a place where we can do that. You know, it's kind of second act, brother. After you've been around here 51 times around the nearest star, you, your time here's a little bit less and so you start thinking legacy and stewardship and how can I give back? And so that's really the next 12 months is how can we do that?
Jethro Jones: I love it. Very good. Lauren, thank you so much. Once again, go check out PerfectisBusiness .com. Link in the show notes. Can daily today.
Loren Baker: Yeah, man. I appreciate you, brother. This is a good thing.