Building Blocks: Case Studies of a Serial Entrepreneur

By Gary Shamis

To achieve business success, you have to have more than a vision - you need inherent passion and a tangible strategy. In Building Blocks, award-winning serial entrepreneur and business consultant Gary Shamis takes you through his own journey of building eight highly innovative ventures to impart a lifetime of lessons learned. Highlighting not only his triumphs but his stumbles along the way, Shamis reveals the critical characteristics, habits and strategies he coaches leading senior executives on - and makes them accessible and relatable to experienced and novice entrepreneurs alike. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jennasis & Associates
• Release date: Jan 15, 2019
• ISBN: 9781732932203

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Building Blocks

COPYRIGHT © 2018 Gary Shamis

All rights are reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording or other digital or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the cases of fair use as permitted by U.S. and international copyright laws.

Published by:

Jennasis & Associates

Contributor: Marsha Leest

Editor: Jessica Shaffalo

In Appreciation

To my parents (of blessed memory), Marvin and Bernice Shamis,

who bestowed on me an appreciation for the right values.

And to my wife, Mary Ann, who encouraged me to practice these values.

Table of Contents

Foreword

Prologue

PART I: MY STORY OF BUILDING

Chapter 1: SS&G: A Labor of ove

Chapter 2: Building a Niche

Chapter 3: the Story of the LEA

Chapter 4: Winning is Everything

Chapter 5: Hillel at Kent State University

Chapter 6: Building Engage! Cleveland

Chapter 7: North Coast Community Homes (NCCH)

Chapter 8: I Never Would Have Believed—Another Chapter

PART II: LESSONS LEARNED

Chapter 9: Passion, Patience and Commitment

Chapter 10: Continuous Improvement

Chapter 11: Strategic Planning

Chapter 12: Execution

Chapter 13: Accountability

Chapter 14: People, People, People

Chapter 15: Competitive Advantage

Chapter 16: Transparency

Epilogue

Acknowledgements

About the Author

FOREWORD

When I first met Gary Shamis 20 years ago at a business conference, our professional connection was immediate. We were both working for fast-growing accounting firms—he with Saltz, Shamis & Goldfarb (SS&G), which would ultimately become the largest CPA firm in the state of Ohio; I as a partner with FERS, a Chicago startup that grew to be the thirteenth largest accounting firm in the country before we eventually sold to H&R Block.

However despite our instant connection, I had no idea just how influential Gary would go on to be in my life, personally as well as professionally. He would become not just one of my closest mentors and at-times business partner, but one of my closest friends. He taught me many life lessons that were crucial to my success, ultimately helping me to realize my goals as a thought leader, consultant and advisor to the accounting profession.

Now, with the release of Building Blocks, Gary is bringing these lessons to a new generation of aspiring entrepreneurs. With each chapter, you’ll notice how everything he touches—for himself, as well as others—is focused on innovation. That’s been his key to success from the start; one he’s passed on to me, and now, will pass on to you.

Back in 1998 when we met, as the Managing Director for SS&G, his team was one of the first firms in the nation to move away from old school accounting to focus on client services, such as compliance and advising. He would go on to found entities to further drive this innovative focus across the industry, including LEA Global, which is now the second-largest international professional association; The Advisory Board, a CPA firm think tank; the Winning is Everything Conference, the most recognized and attended proprietary management conference in the country; and, most recently, Winding River Consulting, which helps accounting and consulting firm managing partners be successful.

With that kind of resume, it’s no wonder Gary has been named an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year and one of the most influential accounting professionals of his time, among other accolades. Yet he’d be the last person to tell you that. Gary is altogether focused on helping others to reach their fullest potential.

In my more than 30 years in business, I’ve learned that people tend to fall into two general categories: givers and takers. There are plenty of takers in business, but Gary is one of those rare few individuals who truly is a giver. He possesses a unique ability to connect with others not just on business issues, but on an intimate level. And that’s really what sets Building Blocks apart from other business advice books.

Building Blocks is a deep dive into entrepreneurialism, but with a personal touch that guides and instructs without ego. Gary, like any successful entrepreneur, has taken many risks—some of which panned out, some of which failed. But if I’ve learned anything from working with him over the past two decades, as well as through this book, it’s this: if you’re going to play the game of business, you are going to fail.

Gary doesn’t hide or sugarcoat his failures, but instead highlights them with humor and humility as critical lessons along his path. In these pages, he unabashedly gives you the very essence of who he is and what he’s been through in the hopes readers won’t shy away from their own challenges. He shows you that success comes not from dwelling on your failures, but from maintaining the confidence in yourself to keep taking the next big risk and making tough decisions. It comes from always focusing ahead of you instead of behind.

In that way, Gary teaches entrepreneurs to look at things differently; to gain clarity on what they want to achieve, and to be a street fighter with class to get there. He also emphasizes that the most successful entrepreneurs are the ones who find balance in caring for others’ success as well as their own, and in giving back to their communities.

With all due respect to colleges and universities, these are lessons you simply can’t learn in a classroom. They’re learned through experiences, often tough ones.

Fortunately, Gary makes it easier by sharing his own journey to minimize the missteps in yours. His guidance was crucial to my own success in growing and selling multiple businesses, and I can never repay him for what he’s given me: not just lessons but new ideas, strategic network introductions, and now, this book.

So if you’re striving to realize your own entrepreneurial vision—to define it and the concrete steps you need to take, and to hold yourself accountable for following them, despite any obstacles that may arise—my advice is simple.

Read on.

Allan D. Koltin, CPA, CGMA

Allan D. Koltin is the CEO of Koltin Consulting Group Inc., a Chicago-based consulting firm. Named as one of Inside Public Accounting’s Top 10 Most Recommended Consultants, he’s been inducted into both the CPA Practice Advisor’s Accounting Hall of Fame and AAM’s Accounting Marketing Hall of Fame. He’s also been voted among the Top 100 Most Influential In Profession by Accounting Today for 19 straight years, and a Top 25 Thought Leader by CPA Practice Advisor for the past six.

Prologue

If you had asked me whether I was an entrepreneur or had an entrepreneurial spirit when I first started working at my father’s firm in high school in 1969, I’d have looked at you like you were crazy.

I was going to be a successful doctor.

That didn’t happen, though. With my personality, good instincts, ability to see opportunities and understand how to capitalize on them, and a little luck, I became a successful entrepreneur.

This book is my way of paying it forward. The book is divided into two parts: my journey and the lessons learned along the way; and how to apply those lessons to everything you do in life and in business.

My journey

The first eight chapters of this book describe my journey as a serial entrepreneur. I learned a lot about how businesses work—and about myself. When I started at my first real job at what is now Deloitte, I was a little scared. Here I was, starting at one of the top firms in the country, with no idea what to expect. I probably envisioned becoming a partner one day, which in those days was a typical dream.

Instead, it turned out to be the beginning of an incredible journey. Within a few months, I was promoted. This was unheard of back then, but I earned the promotion because I had taken the initiative to shake things up. I’m pretty sure I didn’t know I had the confidence to do that when I started the job. But that’s one of the things I learned—and continue to learn—about being entrepreneurial: it’s a combination of seeing opportunity and knowing what to do about it.

When I was in high school, I don’t remember consciously thinking of my father’s firm as an entrepreneurial opportunity. When I eventually joined him, I wasn’t focused on how, or even if, we would grow.

But there was a need for me to bring in enough business at his firm to pay my salary. And so, it’s not an exaggeration to say that need changed the course of my life.

Over the next several decades I created eight separate entities. Different economic and cultural dynamics impacted how each business evolved, but that is not the whole story. The true crux of entrepreneurial success lies outside of the actual business and within the person who passionately leads its development and remains committed through the ups and downs.

As I chronicled my experiences, I realized that sharing the behind-the-scenes qualities that make up the building blocks of success could serve as a valuable resource for people who are passionate about bringing their vision to life. This led to the second half of the book, that assesses how to make this happen.

As you read this, keep in mind that entrepreneurs come in all shapes, sizes and ages. The forces which shape tomorrow’s workforce are breeding new entrepreneurs. This trend started in the 1980s, when the long-held tradition of staying in one job for life began to fade. Today, we are seeing the results of this shift. Millennials are on the path to becoming the most entrepreneurial generation we’ve seen in a long time, and Generation Z has a similar outlook.

Many people, especially those who joined the workforce during the Great Recession, were not able to follow the career paths they envisioned for themselves. Jobs simply weren’t available. To follow their passions—and some would say out of necessity—a new crop of entrepreneurs started their own enterprises.

Older people, too, are becoming entrepreneurial. Many Baby Boomers have a vision of retirement drastically different from the generations that came before them. For these people, the concept of retirement means mentoring or starting a charitable endeavor rather than golfing every day. They are doing things they believe in.

• If you have a vision and a strategy for seeing that vision come to life, you are on your way to becoming an entrepreneur.

• If you are passionate about seeing your vision fulfilled, you are on your way to becoming an entrepreneur.

• If you are committed to seeing the vision through, willing to be fluid and flexible as the vision moves from idea to reality, you are on your way to becoming an entrepreneur.

• If you understand you can’t do it all, and are willing to put the right people in the right positions, you are on your way to becoming an entrepreneur.

• If you recognize the path will not be a straight one, and you are willing to see beyond the curves, you are on your way to becoming an entrepreneur.

• If you understand juggling priorities is part of the job description, you are on your way to becoming an entrepreneur.

• If you can accept responsibility for the