Announcing Unconvention

A Small Business Strategy Guide

For over a decade, I've been deeply engaged with small businesses as both an executive and an advocate. My journey has taken me from corporate boardrooms to the Main Street shops and service businesses that form the backbone of our economy. Through this experience, I've developed a unique perspective on what truly makes small businesses succeed – especially when competing against larger, better-resourced competitors.

Today, I'm excited to announce that I'm bringing these insights together in my upcoming book: Unconvention: A Small Business Strategy Guide, scheduled for release in September.

The Genesis of  

This book was born from my experiences leading companies that directly served tens of thousands of small business owners. As CEO of ForwardLine Financial, I witnessed firsthand the devastating impact of economic disruption on small businesses during the pandemic. Despite government initiatives like the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) that were intended to support "main street" businesses, the harsh reality was that many of these programs predominantly benefited larger enterprises, leaving smaller businesses struggling to survive.

My team and I worked tirelessly to support our customers through this crisis – helping them access funds, connecting them with resources, and providing relief on their financing. Yet despite our best efforts, within less than a year, over 30% of our customers had been forced to close their businesses.

This profound experience stayed with me, even after successfully turning ForwardLine around and selling the business. I couldn't stop thinking about what distinguished the businesses that survived – and even thrived – from those that didn't.

The Underdog Principles

Drawing on thousands of business cases developed with our customers and tracking their performance over time, I began to see clear patterns emerge. What I discovered is that successful small businesses leverage a set of intrinsic principles in their strategy. I call these the Underdog Principles, and they're rooted in the owners' personal strengths and convictions:

1. Positioning: The ability to serve a focused set of customers who value what makes you unique
2. Proximity: The deep understanding of customers that comes from direct, personal interactions
3. Purpose: The freedom to build something meaningful beyond just making money

What excited me most was recognizing that these aren't rare qualities or special gifts – they're fundamental strengths that come naturally to businesses led by passionate, committed owners. The businesses that performed well weren't necessarily the most technologically advanced or the lowest cost; they were the ones most willing to lean into their authentic strengths, build around their unique perspective, and remain committed to their core purpose.

A Different Approach to Small Business Success

Unconvention isn't about mimicking big business strategies or chasing the latest trends. It's about fully embracing what every owner-operated business inherently possesses and using these authentic strengths when making strategic choices about pricing, customer acquisition, asset utilization, and other critical business decisions.

This approach represents a departure from conventional business wisdom, which often assumes that small businesses should aspire to operate like smaller versions of corporate giants. Instead, Unconvention argues that your greatest competitive advantage lies in being fundamentally different – in leveraging the personal, human elements that big businesses struggle to replicate.

Pre-Order Available Now

Unconvention will be available in September, but pre-oder is available now. I look forward to sharing these insights and helping more small business owners recognize and leverage the inherent advantages they already possess.

Pre-Order Available Now!

Stay tuned for more details about the book launch, special pre-order offers, and upcoming events where we can continue this important conversation about strengthening small businesses on their own terms.