Many successful businesses were established as family businesses. This is because most entrepreneurs have relatives whom they trust. It is also well-known that close relatives are likely to invest their money in entrepreneurs’ business ideas.
Therefore, it should not be shocking to find booming business owners recruiting relatives to run their businesses. Unfortunately, competent managers and business executives may not always be within the family.
Many businesses have been forced to make do with less-than-competent personnel. The best way to resolve this problem is to either offer leadership training to a company’s management or hire qualified outsiders.
William Smith of Double Iron Consulting specializes in these types of situations. Bill and his team help family businesses handle emerging issues, including leadership transition.
About Double Iron Consulting
The company was founded by William Smith, a successful business executive with experience running a family business. After working for the family business in various capacities, from the bottom to the top, Bill Smith decided to take the company in a different direction.
As the executive chairman and CEO of Royal Cup Coffee, William Smith worked with the company’s board to promote a strong executive leader from within the business to run the company.
This move allowed the company to transition the family business to non-family leadership and to continue the company’s growth and success. This is something that many family businesses have to think about.
Bill founded Double Iron Consulting to offer business advisory services specifically to family businesses. This was a way of giving back to society after experiencing a lot of success running the Royal Cup Coffee & Tea family business.
Services Offered by Double Iron Consulting
1. Succession Planning
Many family businesses do not have a formalized succession plan. William Smith and Double Iron Consulting can help family business owners to create a suitable succession plan.
They can help company boards to identify suitable heirs and groom them in preparation for the duties they’ll have to oversee in the future.
In case a formal succession plan exists, Double Iron Consulting will help the family business to fine-tune the plan and implement it seamlessly.
The lack of a formal succession plan has previously led to the liquidation or selling of thriving family businesses simply because the family members needed to agree on who should take over the running of the business. This can be prevented through timely and professional succession planning.
2. Leadership Development
Double Iron Consulting works with family businesses, individuals, and teams to identify gaps in approach and execution. Bill Smith and the team use different modalities to ensure proper coaching of individual participants.
The goal is to help teams become more interdependent and productive. The goal is to maximize strengths through proactive training and coaching.
3. Strategic Growth Planning
Double Iron Consulting can help a family business to identify growth goals and construct a plan for achieving those goals. This will help the company leadership development initiatives that will aid in attaining those goals. This will help in ensuring a company grows large and becomes more successful.
4. Advisory Board Services
While the family business board may be tasked with policy formulation and making essential decisions, Double Iron Consulting can be part of the company’s advisory board.
This board will provide the company board with information to help guide their decisions. An advisory board usually comprises legal experts, business experts, tax experts, and other professionals who can help companies make informed decisions repeatedly.
The William Smith Journey
Bill Smith is not your typical business consultant. He is an experienced business executive with a history of excellence in running family businesses.
He understands all the challenges that family businesses go through in their everyday operations. Bill Smith has a proven record of overcoming those challenges and taking a family business to the next level.
His experience spans decades, so Bill can provide insights that most business owners will appreciate. As mentioned, family businesses are usually apprehensive about bringing on outsiders to help them with anything.
With Double Iron Consulting, however, it’s like hiring another family member to try and resolve challenges currently experienced in the business. Bill focuses on one-on-one consulting to ensure businesses get the help they need.
Bill Smith’s Work Experience
Bill Smith started working at the family business at a young age during high school. However, this was only on a part-time basis. After graduating college, William Smith started working for Royal Cup Coffee full-time.
This gave him exposure to frontline roles at the company. In 1991, William earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. In the year 2000, he earned an MBA at Emory University.
Throughout the 1980s and 90s, Bill Smith served in different positions, from the frontlines to the boardroom. After earning his MBA, Bill rejoined the company in a senior management role.
In 2014, he became the CEO and president of Royal Cup Coffee, following in the footsteps of his uncle and father.
In 2020, however, William Smith decided to take the family business differently. He worked with the board to hire a non-family CEO to lead the company through the next phase.
Soon after his Royal Cup Coffee leadership, William Smith founded Double Iron Consulting to try and give back to the community by helping family businesses overcome daily challenges.
During his time at the helm of Royal Cup Coffee, William Smith is credited with streamlining operations and improving the capabilities and capacities of various company units.
He launched and oversaw a significant rebranding effort and completed a major infrastructural project. His efforts put Royal Cup Coffee on a path to more growth and success.
The company is now one of the top roasters and distributors of coffee in the country, thanks to the efforts of William Smith and the whole Royal Cup Coffee team. The business executive is now pursuing his passion for helping family business owners through Double Iron Consulting.
