“I don’t know what to do first.”
Why it happens
A hundred things look urgent. You chase two rabbits and catch neither.
The fix
Name the one thing that moves the business now. Do that. Let the rest wait.
One hour. One flat fee. One founder who has been there.
Are You Still Figuring This Out Alone?
Get an Hour With a Founder Who Already Made the Mistakes.
Bring me the problem that keeps you up at night. Starting. Selling. Hiring. Cash. Growth. You leave with new ideas and a plan you can start on tomorrow.
No contract. No program to join. Just straight answers from someone who has done it.
Book Your One-Hour Session$350 for the hour. Pick your time and pay securely by card. We meet by video.
Louie Bernstein. 50 years in sales. 22 years as a bootstrapped founder. Fractional Sales Leader since 2017.
“You have put together a really powerful system for any small business that wants to grow.” B2B Investor
Maybe This Sounds Familiar
You work harder than anyone you know. You care more than anyone you know. And some days you still have no idea if you are doing the right thing.
So you ask around. You read the books. You watch the videos. You get ten answers, and not one of those people knows your business.
Then it is 2 a.m. and the questions come back. Can I make payroll? Should I hire this person? Why did that big deal go quiet? Am I even cut out for this?
If that lands, you are not failing. You are doing a hard thing without anyone to ask. Let us fix that.
Why Starting and Growing a Business Is So Hard
You started a company because you are good at something. Then the company asks you to be good at everything. Selling. Hiring. Firing. Pricing. Cash. Leading people.
Nobody trains you for that. There is no manual. So you learn the way I did, by making expensive mistakes one at a time. And each one costs you more than the last:
- The hire who never worked out, and the months it took to admit it.
- The prospects you chased who were never going to buy.
- The price you set too low because you were afraid to ask for more.
- The year you spent on the wrong priority.
- The toll it takes on you and the people at home.
Mistakes are part of the deal. Paying full price for every one of them is not.
The Problems I See Every Week
The problem you feel is rarely the problem you have. Here is what is going on underneath, and how we fix it.
“I can’t get enough customers.”
Why it happens
You sell to everyone, so nobody feels you are talking to them. You talk about your product, not their result.
The fix
Get clear on who buys, why they buy, and who wastes your time. Then build outreach you can afford.
“Revenue swings every month.”
Why it happens
How you sell lives in your head. Every deal is a one-off, and your forecast runs on hope.
The fix
Write the process down. Build pipeline stages that prospects earn, so you can see what is coming.
“Cash is always tight.”
Why it happens
You watch the bank balance, not what is coming. Pricing is soft. Collections are slow.
The fix
A weekly cash review. Tighter collections. Better vendor terms. A price that protects your margin.
“My hires don’t work out.”
Why it happens
You hire in a hurry, hand over a list, and say “go get ’em.” Nobody knows what good looks like.
The fix
Define the role first. Spell out what and when. Set up onboarding before the new person starts.
“Everything runs through me.”
Why it happens
You built the company around yourself. Now you are the system, and you cannot step away.
The fix
Decide what only you should do. Document the rest. Hand it off in the right order.
“Louie helped me change my approach to sales which made a big impact.”
If Nothing Changes
Picture twelve months from now, with everything the same.
- You are still guessing at the big decisions.
- You are still working nights and weekends.
- You made another mistake someone could have warned you about.
- You are still carrying all of it by yourself.
Hard work will not fix this. Hard work on the wrong thing only gets you tired faster.
What We Can Cover in One Hour
Your hour, your problem. Pick the one that hurts the most. Here is the ground I have covered in 50 years.
Getting Started
- Testing your idea before you bet on it
- Keeping a foot on the dock while you leave your job
- Bootstrap it or take outside money
- Choosing a partner who fills your gaps
Winning Customers
- Who to sell to, and who to walk away from
- Your first sales, and how to repeat them
- Pricing and what to say when they push back
- Getting business from LinkedIn and YouTube
Building a Sales System
- Getting out of founder-led sales
- Writing a sales playbook your team will use
- Pipeline stages and a forecast you can trust
- Making your CRM the one place the truth lives
Hiring and Leading People
- When to hire your first salespeople, and why two
- Whether you need a VP of Sales yet
- Pay and quotas that reward the right actions
- What to do about your toxic top performer
Money and Hard Times
- Cash flow and how to stop running short
- Getting through a recession or a bad year
- Turning around a business that is losing money
- What to cut, and who you can’t afford to lose
You, the Founder
- Getting your time back
- Burnout, before it costs you more
- A big decision you can’t talk over with your team
- Getting ready to sell the company someday
Don’t see yours? Bring it anyway. If I can’t help, I will tell you.
How Your Hour Works
Before
Pick the one problem
Book your session. Come ready with the problem you most want to solve, and any numbers that go with it.
During
We go to work on it
I ask the hard questions. We find what is underneath. You get what works and what does not. No fluff. No theory.
After
You leave with a plan
We build it before the hour ends. What to do first, what to do next, and what to stop doing.
What You Walk Away With
Before your hour
- The same problem has been on your list for months.
- You have ten opinions and no answer.
- Everything feels urgent.
- You second-guess every big decision.
- You carry it alone.
After your hour
- Clarity on the real problem, which may not be the one you came in with.
- New ideas you have not tried, from someone who has seen them work.
- A plan. What to do first, what to do next, and what to stop doing.
- A warning about the mistakes waiting for you, before you pay for them.
- Confidence in your next move, because someone who has been there looked at it with you.
Picture This: The Morning After.
You wake up and you know what to do first.
The decision you put off for months is made.
The list in your head is a plan on paper.
You know which mistake you just avoided.
You start moving again.
And for the first time in a long time...
You are not doing this alone.
Why Founders Come to Me
Because I have been exactly where you are. I started selling at age 10, at a hot dog stand in Skokie, Illinois. In 1986 I started MindIQ with no outside money and ran it for 22 years. We made the Inc. 500 in 2002.
I never took an accounting course. I knew nothing about HR. I couldn’t spell CEO if you spotted me three letters. I learned it all the hard way. I know what it feels like to:
- Worry about payroll
- Carry every big sale
- Get a company through four recessions
- Fire your best salesperson, and watch sales go up
- Burn out doing all the selling yourself
Most advice comes from people who have only studied this. I have sat in the seats: recruiter, salesperson, sales manager, general manager, chief sales officer, founder and CEO. Since 2017 I have worked inside other founders’ companies as a Fractional Sales Leader. So you get what worked, what failed, and what it cost.
I have made the mistakes. Now I help founders avoid them.
Awards and Accomplishments
Inc. 500, 2002. MindIQ named one of the fastest-growing private companies in America.
LinkedIn Top Voice. Daily posts on sales and building a business, for founders.
AA-ISP2013 · 2014
Top 25 Most Influential Inside Sales Professionals, two years running. Ask an Expert panel member both years.
DEC 100Digital Equipment Corp.
DEC 100 Award every year at Digital. Sales awards at every company I have worked for or run.
50
Years in sales and sales leadership
22
Years running a bootstrapped company, through four recessions
321%
Profit increase turning around New Horizons Atlanta in the worst economy in 30 years
104%
Year-over-year growth in contract value as Chief Sales Officer at Izenda, on a playbook I wrote
52%
Average yearly sales growth over three years at Izenda
8×
EMC’s Southeast territory, from $50K to $400K a month in under a year
61%
Sales growth in one year for a founder client, plus the company’s first profit in years
2017
Fractional Sales Leader to founders ever since
Also
- Author of How to Be a Professional Salesperson, 210 daily lessons plus 52 weekly lessons on sales management
- Publisher of The Sunday Starter, my weekly LinkedIn newsletter, and a YouTube channel for founders
- Built a do-it-yourself eLearning platform at MindIQ in 2001, long before that was common
- Helped grow Izenda out of the Georgia Tech Advanced Technology Development Center
- Sold the first VAX systems to Emory University Hospital and Grady Memorial Hospital for Digital
What Founders Say
“We now had everyone working off the same playbook, and it gave us consistency. Results were much easier to measure.”
“Our sales are far better than where they were a year ago. Great job.”
“Louie came in and helped bring together all our sales efforts into a system with a Sales Playbook, realistic pipeline, and defined roles. We are better off from having Louie here.”
Is This You?
This is for you if
- You are about to start a business, or you just did.
- Your company is growing and you hit a wall.
- You face a big decision and want a second opinion from someone with no agenda.
- You want real help without signing a long contract.
This is not for you if
- You want a magic answer and no work. I will give you the plan. You still have to run it.
- You want weekly coaching. That is The Founder’s Corner.
- You want me inside your company building it with your team. That is my Fractional Sales Leadership service.
Your Investment
You are not buying an hour of my time. You are buying what those 50 years taught me, pointed at your problem.
$350 for one hour. One wrong hire or one missed deal can cost you far more than that.
- One flat fee. No contract and nothing to renew.
- Book again only if you want to.
- One free reschedule with 24 hours’ notice.
- If I can’t help you, I refund your $350 in full.
- Straight talk. If I think you are making a mistake, I will say so.
Questions Founders Ask
What if I have not started my business yet?
Good. This is the cheapest time to get it right. We test the idea, look at who will buy, and map your first steps.
My problem is not about sales. Can you still help?
Often, yes. I ran a company for 22 years, so I have dealt with cash, hiring, firing, partners and recessions. If it is outside what I know, I will tell you.
What if I don’t know what to ask?
Most founders don’t. Tell me where it hurts. I will ask the questions, and we will find the real problem together.
Is this a sales pitch for something bigger?
No. You paid for advice, so you get advice. If you want more help later, ask. If not, you still have your plan.
How do I book and pay?
Right here on this page. Pick a time and pay by card. Stripe handles the payment, so I never see your card number. We meet by video.
What if I need to reschedule, or you can’t help?
You get one free reschedule with 24 hours’ notice. If I can’t help you, I refund your $350 in full.
What Would One Good Hour Be Worth?
Let’s Find Out. Book Your Hour.
Bring your biggest problem. Leave with new ideas and a plan.
$350 for one hour. Secure card payment through Stripe. We meet by video.