S Brian Smith 🪜

I free founders from ops, sales, & management | Founder @ Strategy Ladders | Coached 1000s of B2B and Agency owners | Stop struggling, start enjoying business ownership 🏖️

Most founders of 7-figure B2B service companies reach a point where growth plateaus—and freedom remains a mirage.

They’re still in sales calls. Still solving client fires. Still holding the business together.

That’s where we come in.

At Strategy Ladders, we help founder-led B2B service businesses—agencies, development shops, consulting firms, and more—scale from $2M to $30M+ in annual revenue while removing the founder from daily operations.

We don’t do theory. We do results.

Every advisor on our team has built and scaled 8-figure businesses. We’ve been in your seat, broken through the same ceilings, and led teams to the next level.

What We Deliver:
Strategic clarity with a customized roadmap to scale

Execution firepower through world-class experts and operators

Freedom for founders through strong systems, teams, and leadership

We don’t stop at advice. We help you implement.

Whether it’s building out your sales infrastructure, overhauling project management, optimizing financials, or replacing yourself as CEO—our team has done it before and does it with you.

Services We Integrate Into Our Work:
LATAM recruiting (our secret weapon)

Full-stack B2B marketing through our in-house agency, B2B Labs

Project management systems & leadership

Financial management—without a bloated CFO title

HubSpot CRM buildouts & automation

And more—all tailored for service businesses

We’ve helped clients:
✅ Scale from $150k to $4M ARR in under a year
✅ Slash founder hours by over 40%
✅ Grow recurring revenue from 2% to 50%
✅ Land Fortune 100 clients
✅ Build 65-person teams in two years
✅ Exit profitably and on their terms

We're not a coaching business.

We're not your podcast hero.

We're the serious team for founders ready to win.

If you’re running a 7-figure business and ready to scale to 8+—without grinding yourself into the ground—we should talk.


🪜 www.strategyladders.com

Founder & Head of Strategy

The Strategy Ladder Program delivers MASSIVE results to agencies, consultancies, and service businesses.

If your business is 25-85 employees, partially or fully remote, and you're stuck trying to "level-up," I will transform it with you.

The Strategy Ladder System will get you UNSTUCK. You'll develop a bullet-proof strategy that grows with your business, streamlines operations, scales your revenue, and sets your business up to continue to grow without you.

The Strategy Ladder System doesn't just change your business. It will transform YOU. You'll undergo a mental reset that frees you from the anxiety and beliefs that tie you to the day-to-day in your business. You're the leader of your business - if you don't change, your business never will.

The Strategy Ladder System has worked for over 400 entrepreneurs, delivering & implementing strategies that have:

💥 Scaled an agency from $150k to $4mil ARR in 10 months

💥 Increased a digital marketing agency’s productivity levels by over 450%, dramatically increasing profitability

💥 Streamlined a SaaS product’s roadmap, reducing development costs by 45% while increasing execution speed by over 25%.

💥 Developed and executing a repositioning strategy that landed a web development agency a long-term contract with a Fortune 100 company

💥 Repositioned of an app development agency that grew recurring revenue from 2% to over 50% of total revenue within three month

💥 Built a sales organization of 65 sales people in two years

💥 Orchestrated & executed a legal & and business strategy that lead to a sale of key assets of a SaaS platform for a significant premium over the market value of the company

Most founders hit the same wall. (and how to break through it in 90 days  🚀)

Revenue’s up. Team’s bigger.
And somehow… you’re working more.

Every decision runs through you.
Your calendar is a hostage situation.
And that “vacation”? You spent half of it on Slack.

Here’s what I’ve learned after helping 400+ B2B service founders break the cycle:

The problem isn’t your team. It’s your operating system AND decision delegation.

One client had 80+ employees… and the founder was still spending 6–10 hours/week reviewing dashboards, reports, and funneling decisions through himself.

Not leading. Not strategizing.
Just… reviewing.

We rebuilt their operating rhythm & assigned decision ownership.

90 days later: the team runs the reviews.
The founder gets a 15-minute summary every day. That’s it.

Here’s what a real 90-day shift looks like:

✅ Days 1–30: Clarity

- Map every decision that “requires you”
- Install a simple rule: reversible decisions don’t climb to the founder
- Assign ONE owner per function (Sales, Delivery, Ops, Finance)

✅ Days 31–60: Cadence

- Weekly leadership rhythm (same agenda, every week)
- Scoreboard + priorities (no vibes, no rambling)
- Problems get solved by owners… not escalated to you

✅ Days 61–90: Accountability

- Public commitments
- Misses get fixed, not explained
- You stop rescuing — and become the strategic leader again

One client went from a $1M to $4.5M run rate during this transition.

Not because they worked harder.
Because they built a business that didn’t need them in every room.

The real question isn’t “Can my team handle it?”
It’s: “Have I given them the system to win without me?”

What’s one decision you made this week that your team should’ve owned?

But be careful with one-size-fits-all approaches. Every operating business starts with its own unique set of challenges.

If you’re serious about getting out of the middle, DM me “90 DAYS” and I’ll send you a business audit to see where you need to focus first.

✌️🧡🌮

Finds a way to get things done | Eclectic Inquisitive | Tech Enthusiast | Unchained Writer | Creating Order Out of Chaos | Data Lover | Task Slayer

Why "No Capes"?

Teachers used to ask me "where is your cape?" when I entered their classroom, because I was their hero. I showed up and fixed their problem. But the truth is you don't need to be a superhero to transform learning.

You need space to breathe.

I'm here to show educators how to be superheroes without capes.

The problem is that the education system is choking on the promise of excellence. 

I help K-12 schools breathe again. 

⚡How?
Lead with curiosity → Listen and empathize
Define the problem → Identify options (tools, training, or something else)
Brainstorm solutions → Find existing tools or build custom ones
Iterate and adapt → Year-long implementation support (not one-and-done PD)
Refine → Ongoing coaching on tools you already use while fostering growth mindset and a culture of play

❓Why?
Get time back to educators so they can invest in students the way they want to.

Because I'm driven by a single axiom: 
Be better tomorrow than I was today. 

My journey uniquely positions me in this work:

My undergraduate study in Music Theory, History, and Archaeology reinforced pattern recognition. This helps me identify the root problems.

My master's work on community memory and identity taught me how to combine various threads into a cohesive story and sort chaos into clarity. This helps me not only identify the root of problems, but innovate unique, practical solutions that work outside of ivory towers. 

I learned technology by doing. I didn't learn it by the book, but learned what actually works in practice. Sometimes the textbook answer is wrong, but I'll find a solution that works, even if that means it isn't more tech but less tech.

What makes me tick?

Metacognition and knowledge transfer (I apply knowledge from one area to the next)
High Neuroplasticity (I learn and can adapt rapidly)
Courage to challenge the status quo (Complacency leaves us stagnant, I'm always looking for a better way to do things)
Substance over surface level (I think deeply and show up authentically)

What people say about working with me;

🫂"You make me feel safe."
🧠"Sometimes I don't have the brain power for a 'Job' conversation."
🆘"Makes tech practical and user-friendly."
🔎"You presented a breadth of knowledge with excellent inquiry learning. I greatly appreciate your kindness, knowledge, and true joy in sharing what you've learned."

**Views expressed are my own and do not represent my employer or affiliated organizations.**

Job Christiansen

I leveled up ⚡ 

I spent the last 3 days learning the basics of Agile Project Management from MAX Technical Training!

Thank you to our trainer for the depth of knowledge, experience, and accessibility of concepts through real world examples. 

Now that I've tasted the fruit of project management, I'm itching for more.

#agile #projectmanagement #professionaldevelopment #lifelonglearning

Ladder and steps kinda guy who dreams in stardust | Helping educators and leaders align EdTech with learning, not the other way around⚡No Capes Learning

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This is probably radical, but what if K-12 schools weren't just places for children to learn, but for whole communities to learn?


What if schools saw it as their responsibility not just to educate children, but the parents too?


Everyone is interconnected. 


⛔Trying to teach children as if they exist in a vacuum just doesn't make sense.
 

✅Reinforcing skills with parents that will support the learning process does. 


What does this look like?


💡a few ideas off the top of my head:

- weekly newsletters to parents that actually cause them to think, not just stay informed on what their child is learning

- evening workshops for Q&A and hands-on engagement with topics and lessons

- PBL for all ages with a component inviting parents to participate and build in the project

- takehome activities that explain the why and provide a curiosity questioning routine for families to learn and apply a lesson together

This is how thriving learning communities are built. 

This is how community is built. 

This is how villages come together. 

#k12education #community #lifelonglearning

"To build radical momentum, it's essential to accept it requires you to get a little weird."

Ashley Kesner posted this quote earlier this week and I can't stop thinking about it. 


So it ended up on my whiteboard. 

Because I want to keep moving forward, but get stuck when I feel out of place. 

Ahem. 

That's the WHOLE point. 

We can't make change through conformity. 

We need to get a little weird. 

Or a lot weird.

I'll figure it out. 



So here is a weird little selfie of me on this frigid Friday. 


#Fridayselfiecrew

Last week, I kicked off this series with one question:

What makes a workplace great (for the people who work in it)?

I identified seven core pillars that consistently show up in workplaces people actually want to be part of.

This week, we’re diving into pillar one: Feeling Valued.

So, how do employees feel valued?
Ask 100 employees, and you’ll probably get 100 different answers.

But responses tend to fall into four key components:

💲 Fair Compensation
• Salary and wages are a tangible representation of value
• When compensation doesn’t match the work completed, employees feel taken advantage of
• No matter how often you say “thank you,” misaligned pay undermines appreciation

💬 Having a Voice
• Employees feel valued when they’re invited into conversations and decisions
• Their input contributes to real change
• A voice isn’t just being heard, it’s influence and meaning

🎉 Being Celebrated
• Celebration can be public or private. Takeaway? Personalization matters
• Examples: handwritten notes for those who value words, gift cards for tangible recognition, high fives or hugs for those who respond to physical touch, public acknowledgment for project contributions
• The goal: make employees aware their work actually makes a difference

🫂 Sense of Belonging
• Hardest to measure, but critical for fulfillment in the workplace
• Belonging comes from real connections and an environment that fosters inclusion
• Encourage it through group lunches, space for casual conversations, real collaboration and teamwork, and transparent practices that make everyone feel wanted

Bottom line:
When employees feel valued, they show up enthusiastic, engaged, and ready to contribute.

💬 I’d love to hear from you:
Is there an aspect of feeling valued I missed?

#workplacewednesdays #workplaceculture #leadership #value

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S Brian Smith 🪜

Job Christiansen

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The Battle

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Job Christiansen

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