I wanted to send you a quick note to thank you for coaching us through our growing pains!  Given the increased focus on franchising and the opportunities that lie in the security sector, we have been faced with some pretty big decisions this year.  Your guidance in helping us clarify our goals and actually put them in print has helped significantly.   Our weekly meeting to detail our “action items” has helped us stay on task and remain focused on the big picture… not just the day-to-day activities that often overtake a business.

The strategic planning sessions that we have completed have given the entire company a vision that we could not have accomplished without your leadership.  Your way of gently affirming our individual value yet guiding us toward a common goal is admired and respected.

I am also impressed with your marketing expertise.  The MARCOM plan that we are working on makes sense for our budget.  I appreciate that you are a team player and work within our means.  You are always equipped with a unique idea!  Whether it’s our newsletter, website or direct marketing efforts...I could never have accomplished alone what we have done together. 

Thanks for all you’ve done for us and our owners.  We are a stronger company because of your efforts.  Your involvement continues to give us a fair perspective about where we are now and where we are heading.  I look forward to continuing our relationship and reaching for the next level of our success!

Mary Jezioro
Vice President/Co-Owner
SHIELD Security Systems
Franchise Development Corp.

I’ve worked with Rick Wallace for over 20 years in various capacities. Rick possesses the unique talent of cutting through the clutter and getting to the chase on businesses issues….he gets things done!  His creativity and analysis of an enterprise has allowed him to launch some very strategic initiatives in customer care and innovative marketing plans they have significantly grown business I have been associated with. Rick is also very strong in working with the many disciplines of a company to put strategic plans and programs together and drives them to completion. I highly recommend Rick to any organization that needs someone to apply discipline, direction and creativity to an organization.

Nick Mandrycky
President Fujicopian USA Inc.

Through Rick’s guidance I now understand how vital setting goals are for a small business owner like myself. Without that vision I cannot manage my time, lead my company and more importantly realize the dreams I have for either my personal or business life. As we say “you have to have the “want to” before the “how to”. 

With Rick’s help we have tackled “head on” the challenges that I faced in taking my business to the level I had always dreamed was possible. We are getting results and together we are developing and implementing plans and programs that are working.

Jeff Allen
President and Owner
Shield Security Systems
Charleston, S.C.

As a small business owner I felt I had hit the ceiling as to where I could take my company. I needed to grow and I was in need of someone or something to get me to the next level. Being an entrepreneur can sometimes be a lonely profession. I had some ideas of what I needed to do, but I was unsure how to do them. So I reached out to Rick to help me build a promotional plan that would attract more customers.
I got a lot more than I asked for. We didn’t talk about promotion for quite a while. He took me back to why I got into this business in the first place. I reconnected with my goals and aspirations for this business and my personal goals as well.

He helped me find my old confidence and got me working on the business and not just in it. By asking the right questions over several meetings, he led me through an analysis of my industry, competition, my core competency, our strengths, our weaknesses, we surveyed our customers to find out what they valued in a partner and how well we met those expectations and analyzed many other aspects of my business over the coming weeks.  We did all of this before we even began to talk about marketing promotions.
As business owners, we can leverage those same benefits to build our skill set, a better business and thus provide some personal freedoms we initially thought our business would provide, but have simply never materialized.

I recommend business coaching. Rick leads you through the process, lets you make the decisions and then he helps you execute those decisions. Rick does so without hesitation, and he does not suffer the “pride of authorship” syndrome others do that can prevent creative, productive thinking. I’m a better businessman, running a more profitable business because of the partnership I built with Rick.

Rick Wallace worked for me for over 5 years. During this time, Rick repeatedly demonstrated his creativity and resourcefulness as a business strategist.  Rick has excellent marketing instincts, is quick to assess an opportunity and has an upbeat, high-energy coaching style.

Richard Kingdon
Former President of IIMAK & former Manager at consulting firm, Bain & Co.

Rick Wallace ranks right at the top of all Marketing Executives I’ve worked with during my 30 year career. His creative, action-oriented approach to tackling challenges has resulted in a long and successful career. His honest, down-to-earth style and sense of humor make him a pleasure to work with. As a business owner myself, I can’t think of anyone more suitably qualified to be a business coach!

Rick Dean
President R.W. Dean and Associates

I have always admired Rick’s ability to find new markets. He possesses a rare skill set in having both the vision to see where you want to go and the tenacity to make things happen in order to achieve that vision. I have always thought of him as a critical thinker who can look beyond the obvious in order to find the pitfalls and turn those into opportunities.

Lynn Crutchfield
President of Acucote International and Executive Director
Brand Protection Alliance

I never could have started my company without the enormous amount of knowledge and training I gained through my experience in working with Rick. Rick played a big part in my success by teaching me to always look outside the box strategically. To seek out training from outside sources.  He taught the company the value of customer service "under commit and over deliver” is still one of my favorites and one that I truly believe in and practice every day.

His energy, positive outlook and genuine caring for not only the company but the individual were just some of his outstanding traits. Rick has always had the ability and vision to see and uncover things that others most always overlook.

I have been fortunate to have had the opportunity to strategically grow one of our company’s most profitable product lines, thru the direct tutelage of Mr. Rick Wallace.  Through Rick’s coaching-style leadership, he encouraged me to form vendor/distributor relationships beyond the typical vertical markets we were accustomed to, at a time when “market share” of our aftermarket product was reaching maturity. This resulted in double-digit annual growth for six (6) consecutive years with an aftermarket product in a business sector that was traditionally a strong OEM marketplace.  One can never be simply satisfied with average sales growth, Rick’s insight and strategy into private branding further expanded our product penetration when “price points” were being challenged by competing aftermarket brands.  Rick has an uncanny ability to recognize when product depth, price points, profit margins, sales channel, or customer relationships need refinement, well before any of our competitors realized!  I can personally attest to my success thru the tactical, and timely, planning that Rick provided me in my sales career.

Having worked closely with Rick Wallace for eight years at International Imaging Materials, I can attest to his undeniable enthusiasm and marketing expertise.  He prides himself on measurable results combined with a true sense of urgency in an ever-changing marketing environment. Characterized as forward-thinking, creative, and strategic, he is abreast of the latest marketing concepts and vehicles and can quickly provide valuable guidance to meet specific needs/situations.  Access to Rick's strategic planning and marketing expertise would be a great asset to any small business looking to differentiate themselves from their competition.

I’ve had the good fortune to work with Rick for over 15 years. He offers a rare combination of skill to any business – the ability to see the vision of success and, more importantly, knowledge of the steps required to reach it.  Add in the drive, enthusiasm, and hard work, which Rick always brings to the challenge, and you have a formula for success. I’ve learned much from Rick over the years, and enjoyed every minute of it. He’s a pleasure to work with and for.

Michael D. Mancini
Manager of Marketing
Adeptiv Solutions, LLC

Rick is a creative thinker. He provides a continuous stream of great ideas to reach more prospects and develop new products and services to generate revenue. All you have to do is decide how you can implement them all!

We were on a shoestring advertising budget for a new product introduction. Rather than placing a small ad buried inside an industry magazine, Rick’s out of the box thinking put our ad on the magazine’s cover via a “belly band”. We saved money by getting the publisher to include our ad only on the portion of circulation that targeted our best prospects.

Formal customer surveys are useful, but are also costly and time consuming. Rick introduced an online tool that made surveying customers as easy as sending an email. Now when we have questions about making product or service changes, we get feedback in less than 24 hours from our entire customer base. Thanks to Rick, the voice of the customer is now the primary driver of decisions.
Rick is highly approachable. I always was able to openly discuss business issues. His advice was sound and direct. I knew he would immediately assist me in addressing the problem head on.

Amy Schmitt
Senior Marketing Manager
IIMAK, Buffalo, NY

He is an incredible "idea man", but rarely took credit for his ideas. Often, he would come up the basic idea, I would expand on it and implement it and he would give me all the credit. Rick also has a great deal of integrity. He always admitted when he was wrong or when he didn't know the answer to a question.
Rick's vision, leadership, creativity, upbeat personality and ability to create excitement balanced with his incredibly human side are the reasons I regard him as a great manager.