Exit Consulting Group is excited to introduce its newest team member, Jackie Stone.
Jackie joins ECG as a Managing Director of Consulting, bringing 30 years of experience in sales, operations, and process re-engineering to the ECG team. In addition to working for various startups and Fortune 500 companies throughout San Diego, she also owned her own business, which she successfully exited.
Jackie is adept at helping companies achieve optimal financial performance through strategic planning, process improvement, and data analytics. She earned a bachelor’s degree in management of computer information systems from the University of Phoenix, a master’s degree in business with an emphasis in change management leadership from Ashford University, and a Six Sigma Green Belt.
Get to know Jackie in this short Q&A about her background, including the experience of buying, owning, and selling a business.
How do you apply your professional experience to consulting with ECG clients?
I’ve been working directly with C-Suite leaders for more than half my career, from running a process re-engineering department of 10 people to overseeing a software sales and operations team. At ECG, I’m able to apply a proven process re-engineering approach to companies of all types and sizes because the philosophy, principles and steps are generally identical in any situation, whether the goal is to scale, sell, or both.
What does the concept of process re-engineering mean to you?
Process re-engineering is using data and workflow analysis to optimize business processes. You are figuring out where pain points are by extrapolating data. By understanding the key problems, you can make informed decisions to improve them, not just on their own but as part of the entire system, and implement holistic solutions to make the business more efficient.
How does process re-engineering connect with ECG’s Exit Engineering® approach?
From a business owner’s perspective, process re-engineering is a means to scale operations and obtain a higher valuation for the business, leading to a larger payout for the owner upon the exit. ECG’s Exit Engineering process involves understanding the key drivers of a business valuation, and this is where process re-engineering comes in to position the business more favorably to a prospective buyer. Think of it as part of the prep work (which can be extensive) to eventually sell your business at a better price.
You’ve bought and sold a business yourself?
I have! I bought a restaurant and owned it for about a year and a half before selling it at profit from the original purchase price. Most people who start restaurants are chefs. While I love to cook, I’m not a chef; I’m a businessperson. I spent the first two hours of every workday analyzing numbers to understand where the expenses were, what was making money and what wasn’t. I wouldn’t have been able to succeed in running, much less selling, the business if I hadn’t spent that time every single day deep in the data. It gave me a clear understanding of why so many restaurants open and close, sometimes rather quickly. I’m proud and fortunate that I was able to beat the odds and ultimately sell the restaurant for a notable profit.
Why is ECG the right fit for you?
I’m wired to solve problems, and so is everyone on the ECG team. I don’t just want to climb up a mountain; I want to jet up the mountain. Being able to work with a variety of businesses and help solve their problems is both rewarding and fulfilling. I’m also fascinated in learning about different businesses, and it’s meaningful to me to be able to support the greater community of small businesses, as well as the entrepreneurs who are such an essential part of our economy.
Welcome aboard, Jackie, and thank you for sharing your insights!
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