A Franchise Ready to Expand, But Stuck in the Field
Budget Blinds of Scottsdale had built real traction selling and installing blinds, shutters, drapery, and motorized window coverings across the greater Scottsdale market. But when franchise owner Steve Linnemeyer engaged Waters Business Consulting Group in 2022, the business had reached a familiar ceiling: continued growth would require more structure, clearer roles, and stronger financial visibility than the company currently had. Steve had built successful businesses before and knew what he didn’t want to repeat — he wanted experienced, objective guidance to help him expand into new territory and grow long-term business value without avoidable mistakes.
Too Much Owner, Not Enough System
The diagnosis was a common one for growing home-services franchises: Steve was heavily involved in daily field operations rather than functioning as a strategic leader, and that owner-dependence was showing up throughout the business. Leadership within the installation department was misaligned, with unclear accountability and inconsistent installer productivity — including padded hours that WBCG’s analysis helped surface. On the sales side, friction had developed around lead distribution fairness and conversion accountability, and the company was sitting on approximately $1.7 million in open quotes with no structured follow-up process to convert them. Margin pressure from vendor pricing and fee structures was eating into profitability, and with no KPI dashboards across sales or installation, Steve had limited real-time visibility into how the business was actually performing. Layered on top of all of it: he wanted to model a second territory and needed formal succession and continuity planning despite his long-term interest in an eventual transition.
Building the Operating System Behind the Business
WBCG’s engagement centered on a “Profit by Design” financial model that gave Steve real forecasting, breakeven visibility, and margin planning for the first time. From there, the team implemented KPI dashboards across both sales and installation performance, tied directly to accountability and execution. Installation leadership responsibilities were clarified, with management refocused on scheduling, training, and team development, while new installer KPIs — budgeted hours, go-backs, quality tracking, and bonus alignment — created measurable standards for a team that had previously operated without them.
On the sales side, WBCG strengthened performance management by tracking conversion rates and aligning lead distribution to actual results, and helped develop a sales compensation framework tied to performance expectations. Leadership development ran throughout the engagement too, including a formal Leadership Challenge training program for multiple team members, work to define core values, and a stronger communication cadence across the organization. WBCG also conducted an expense and fee review to reduce financial leakage as volume increased, and supported continuity and succession planning to reduce Steve’s day-to-day dependence and strengthen the business’s long-term enterprise value.
From $1.8 Million to $3.5 Million
The results speak for themselves: revenue grew from approximately $1.8 million at the start of the engagement to approximately $3.5 million, with the growth trajectory sustaining into 2023 and surpassing prior-year performance. Gross margin improved alongside that growth, driven by stronger pricing discipline, larger average ticket sizes, and better alignment between sales and installation execution. A structured sales pipeline system now gives the business real visibility into future revenue, and clearly defined position descriptions have replaced the ambiguity that once caused friction on the installation team. Perhaps most importantly for Steve personally, the business now runs with far less owner involvement in day-to-day operations — freeing him to lead rather than manage.
Ready to Get Out of the Field and Into Leadership?
If you’re the busiest person in your business every single day, growth will always be capped by your own bandwidth. Waters Business Consulting Group helps owners like Steve Linnemeyer build the KPIs, leadership structure, and financial discipline needed to scale beyond themselves.
Contact Waters Business Consulting Group to schedule a free consultation.
