Case Studies on Purpose

“Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare.”  ~ Japanese proverb In business, as in life, resources are limited; and few organizations feel the squeeze of resources quite like non-profits and associations. Unfortunately, the vision and goals of such organizations are often developed in strategic planning processes without ever considering the biggest barrier to success: the available resources in which to achieve these goals. If you don’t heavily consider resources when making plans, you risk having your visions defeated by resource reality. It is a very common tale. 97% of companies say they are not successful at implementing and executing their … [Read more...]

The DeKalb County Youth Service Bureau (YSB) is a nonprofit 501 c3 organization that has provided counseling, groups, and other supportive services to adolescents and their families for more than 40 years. Its clientele have been identified as at-risk and typically are from low-income households. Challenge YSB's story was typical of so many nonprofits out there - they were trying to fulfill a great need for service with limited funding. For 42 years, the organization managed to keep up with a growing number of clients (a 325 percent increase during a 10-year period) until the economy crashed in 2008. Jason Nicol, Executive Director, explained, "At that point, we lost 25 percent of … [Read more...]

Mark and Janice Utendorf were interested in purchasing a lawn care service company in the Chicago area and needed guidance through the acquisition process. The company offers customized lawn care programs including fertilization, weed control and pest control. Challenges The couple was on vacation when they received a call that a reputable, local lawn care service was for sale. Mark had experience working for several green industry companies so when this opportunity presented itself, the couple felt it was worth consideration. But, it was March and if they were interested, they would have to take ownership of the company in April before the warm weather started. "Lawn care companies are … [Read more...]

Orbit Media Studios is a Chicago-based web design firm. Orbit specializes in web design and development, e-commerce, content management tools, hosting and creative vision for both large and small businesses in Chicago. Partners Barrett Lombardo and Andy Crestodina founded Orbit Media Studios, first in 1997 as a company that designed and built multimedia comics, and again in 2001 as a web design firm. In 2004, a third partner, Frank Voznak, joined the fast-growing business. Challenge When Orbit Media Studios entered into a partnership with Anchor Advisors, Ltd. in 2007, the web design firm was facing a number of challenges. Andy explained, "We were never going to grow … [Read more...]

Looking for New Markets As the economy has declined from it's height the office furniture business was particularly hard hit. As the size of the market shrank, each of the players fought harder for the business that remained. Margins have declined and may never rebound. One of the leading office products dealers in the Chicago area approached Anchor Advisors to help them to develop strategic alternatives to this trend. The project began with an analysis of the company's sales by customer for each of the previous 3 years. The trends that emerged helped our client to identify their most profitable customers and tailor their offerings to more effectively reach those segments. We also … [Read more...]