Every business owner wants and seeks testimonials. I do, too, yet what makes these different for which I’m very proud is that they really describe the work I did and how it changed their business for the better. I hope I can add your name to this list.
Daniel Kocielinski.
I am a experienced IT engineer, I have been living in New York since 2017. In 2018 I created my startup – offering IT services.
I met Alan Siege at the FastTrac® NewVenture course in January 2019, where – as an experienced facilitator and business expert – he conducted 10 meetings for a group of novice entrepreneurs. In that way I started my adventure in business in New York.
Thanks to Alan’s help, I started working on solving such issues as: Refine my business concepts, Identify the components of a strong business plan, Gain the knowledge and skills I need to launch a profitable business. But, first of all, this course with Alan helped me clarify the vision for my business and strengthened my belief in building a startup. However, I was still struggling with many issues – such as defining key values, what are my competitive advantages, sales target, sales channels, etc.
In January 2020, I asked Alan for a series of one-on-one meetings to continue my education which I started on the Fast Track course. We agreed to meet over the next few months to discuss various topics. Already at the first meetings I realized that Alan is a great business consultant, very experienced and full of knowledge.
First of all, we started working on defining the vision, mission and values for my business, and we worked on the content for the website and sales materials. I figured I had a lot to learn from Alan, so to build a team I need more experience in terms of communication and team leadership.
Therefore, in March 2020, I decided to take the role of a business consultant (as an engineer) in the startup of building an internet browser – while continuing to meet regularly with Alan in the following months.
Conversations and discussions with him helped me, above all, to gain more self-confidence as a young entrepreneur. Studying various books together and discussing various business-related issues, at the same time we had a lot of fun – playing different roles.
Alan’s help and expertise led me to a stage where I have no more doubts about the future direction of my startup – finding answers to all my previous questions.
I confirm, without any reservation, that Alan serves in a critical and essential capacity in the development of the basis for my startup. He is very professional, knowledgeable and was very easy to work with. Any business that decides to hire Alan would certainly benefit from his expertise and skills.
Shelley Diamond
www.shelleydiamondarchivalsolutions.com
Alan has been an exceptional advisor helping me learn to market my small, rather niche, consulting business. He quickly diagnosed my marketing and sales limitations and zeroed in on areas where I needed management guidance and help.
Working with Alan is like taking a marketing “how-to” crash course targeted specifically for YOUR business. Through our advisory sessions, Alan has helped refine my understanding of my target markets, craft more effective messaging, learn practical and effective selling techniques and commit to a marketing strategy. He’s a great coach: patient and direct, prodding when needed, always encouraging. Alan helped me set realistic marketing goals and explore various marketing strategies – even persuading me (I needed persuading) to launch a blog to showcase my professional knowledge and expertise. With Alan’s direction, expertise and support, I’m more confident now embracing marketing and selling as a cornerstone to build a successful business.
Big Bad Evil Gaming
Small Business Management Consulting was instrumental in providing us with the road map to successfully navigate our business. Alan was patient and knew the right questions to ask us in order to get our business off the ground. He was able to assist us with the various aspects of creating a business plan, from providing questions aiding us in creating a business description to guiding us through the process of creating financial projections. Alan was constantly able to provide us with insights and questions that allowed us to build our business plan with a level of detail we would not have been able to achieve alone. Without his continuous support and guidance we wouldn’t have been able to submit our business plan to the Brooklyn PowerUp competition. Alan was the indispensable lighthouse in the chaos of the storm, if you need a helping hand to steer you in the right direction, Alan is the choice for you.
Docious Godfrey
https://docious.com/section/453635-Little-Man.html
When I started working with Alan, I was overwhelmed with all of the many aspects of trying to get my children’s book out into the world. I was trying to do too many things and was spreading myself thin. Alan helped me prioritize tasks and eliminate ones that weren’t really all that useful for reaching my goal. He came up with great suggestions I hadn’t thought of and, crucially, helped me see my project from a business perspective. His notes from our sessions, the task lists and his guidance have made a big difference in my strategy and enthusiasm for my project. I’m very happy with my decision to work with Alan!
Mali List Mayer
www.lifemanagementpro.com
Alan Siege is money well spent for my business. He has helped me to understand my potential, know my value, realize my expertise and work on a plan to grow my business. Also, he has helped me to write copy that tells what I do in succinct manner for all to understand. The copy can be used for promotional materials, as a digital flyer and even for the new website that I am having built. Working with Alan is both fun and hard work. He gets me thinking and pushing myself. In our sessions we review copy I have written, develop a marketing strategy, role play speaking with prospective clients and create a spreadsheet of financial projections. I know there will come a day when I no longer need Alan, and I will miss him when that happens.
Jeff Fine, LCSW, MS, NSCA-CPT
TotalSelf Counseling and Fitness
www.mytotalself.com
I had been sitting on an idea to expand my practice for too long, feeling overwhelmed and stuck. Alan has been instrumental in helping me envision the big picture while simultaneously breaking things down to manageable steps along the way. Alan is also a talented copy writer, and his skills in this area have been invaluable for promotional ads and the script for a webinar he helped me create. Alan’s wisdom, encouragement, and guidance have been exactly what I’ve needed to move forward with my goals.
David Wagner – D.A. Wagner Productions, LLC
Lightroom Guy Blog – https://lightroomguy.com
Commercial Photography – https:dawagner.com
NYC Lightroom Meetup Group – https://www.meetup.com/New-York-Lightroom-Meetup/
Five years after launching my startup, I hit a saturation point where I was stuck. I reached out to my original facilitator from my FastTrac NewVenture classes, Alan Siege, for advice and guidance. Alan helped me to develop strategies to manage and overcome what was preventing me from getting my business to the next level. Each weekly session felt like a discussion with a wise old friend, but much more than that – it was a form of business therapy followed by sage advice. Homework assignments got me to look at where my clients were coming from and how to discover and add new clients, and honestly break down exactly how much I capital I really had for expansion. We looked at my strengths and defined my weaknesses. Not always easy, but now that I’m putting Alan’s advice into practice, I’m starting to expand my business smartly without putting it at risk.
Melanie Severo, LAC, MS, RN – Owner
https://karuna-acupunctureny.com/
Alan has been instrumental in helping me to more effectively convey my passion and skills to potential clients. In addition, the work we did together helped me to think about alternative revenue streams I could use to help grow my business more efficiently. He uses a calm voice of reason and a quirky sense of humor to help put you at ease, and he was always gently pushing me to be more confident, focused, and positive about how I present myself and my services. He provided objective and thoughtful insight to a process that had been overwhelming for me, and I highly recommend Alan for helping you to move your business to the next level.
Nate Scott Timmerman
Principal, 8 North Entertainment
Alan Siege has served as my business coach since January of 2013. During this time, he has proved himself to be a very insightful guide – leading me through the process of evaluating and improving the way I run my business. He is also a good listener and can get at the core of an issue very quickly. As a sound designer and engineer (with a focus of Urban and R & B artists); I work in a very demanding and competitive industry. Alan does not have direct experience in my field, yet by working with Alan, I now know how to speak to the value I provide to my current and prospective clients. This has translated into being comfortable to raise the fees I charge for my services. I highly recommend him.
Secil Cornick,
Owner-Producer, See See Multimedia
www.seeseemultimedia.com
Working with Alan, I’ve been able to clearly state what features and benefits my business offers, which, I learned, is really what people are interested in. Alan helped me understand how to approach marketing from the client’s point of view, and how to craft my messages so that it resonates with the people I want to work with. I’m the kind of person who’d much rather do the work and leave the marketing and selling to others, and clearly as a small business owner I needed to get out of that shell. Thanks to Alan, I now proudly talk and write about what I do, without feeling like I’m reciting an ad. I’m also grateful to him for helping me make sense of my available time and my priorities – I’m now better equipped to manage multiple projects with a realistic grasp of my schedule and resources. Alan also helped me develop more effective pricing methods which take into account ALL my expenses and factor my experience when setting prices for my services.
Dan Silverstein, Owner
Founder, GreenZone Landscape Design
As a small, Brooklyn-based landscape design/build company I realized that in order to improve my business I needed to take new steps. I just didn’t know which steps to take that would be best for my company. I clearly needed a new and focused direction. Through in-depth conversations and thoughtful assignments Alan worked with me to develop a plan of action to help GreenZone Landscape stand out from my competition. Alan helped me realize and appreciate the fact that there were many important qualities about GreenZone that needed to be promoted differently in order to reach my desired audience.
Julie Tupler
Owner and Founder, Tupler Technique – Treatment for Diastasis Recti
www.TuplerTechnique.com
I spent three months working with Alan Siege and his company, SBMC, and I’m pleased to say that I was more than satisfied with his work. On one level, I was able to significantly improve the way my company is positioned in the marketplace. On another, Alan was very helpful in getting me to think differently about the brand of my business. Specifically, I worked with him on several projects including creating new collateral material in the form of a direct mail piece and a completely new company brochure, both of which – with his excellent writing skills – captured the breadth of my company. In addition, Alan was instrumental in helping me to revise and expand my web site so that it is now not only more comprehensive, it has more eye-catching appeal. Along with working on these projects, I found Alan to be a very effective strategist when it came to approaching new people about the business. Overall, I enjoyed the experience of working with him and would recommend him highly.
Richard Randig
Founder-Principal, Healing-NYC – (An Integrative Medicine Practice)
When I decided to take the journey away from a career of high stress, multitasking work, I wanted to elevate an avocation to a vocation. I found the perfect companion in Alan Siege. I knew I had a story to tell as a complimentary, alternative medicine practitioner but didn’t know how to tell it. We journeyed together for four months. With Alan as guide for the journey, we were able to find the words that told my unique story. Alan asked the right questions that helped me to reinvent myself. From a business perspective, Alan showed me how to reevaluate the care and compassion that underlies my healing work in a treatment setting and place a value on it in the market place. We developed a strategy to increase my visibility and client base by branding myself using collateral materials we created together. Alan Siege is a gentle soul with a great business sense. He would be an exceptional guide on any business development journey.
Danilo Bonazza,
Owner, Art and Mosaics LLC
https://www.artandmosaics.com/
Collaborating with Alan Siege was both an informative and valuable experience. Having already established a reputation elsewhere, I was looking for guidance in how to rebuild it here in the U.S. Alan helped me develop a strategy to approach this challenge, improving my visibility and client base by rebranding and repositioning my company through collateral materials and in-person presentations. I am confident that our work together will continue to make my business more successful in the years to come. For this and to help turn your vision into something tangible, I recommend Alan and his company, SBMC, and thank him for his genuine care and attention.
Chacon and Chakaras Johnson,
Principals, Helen-Marie, Inc. (A full-service Web and Graphics Design Company)
www.helen-marie.com
We worked with Alan Siege over a period of six months during which time he led us through a process to first determine and then evaluate our core strengths as a business. We had sought his advice as we were trying to re-establish our identity after some major internal changes and this process proved invaluable.
We are now able to articulate a value proposition that leverages our past success with some top commercial companies in a way that speaks to the challenges of our target market – smaller and mid-sized companies who need dynamic and inter-active web sites. With Alan’s help we developed a video that can be used as part of our presentation to prospective clients. Alan Siege and his company, Small Business Management Company, can be very effective in helping your business better communicate what makes you original and valuable.
John Cifirni
Owner, Tarzian Hardware, Park Slope, Brooklyn
In the two years that I worked with Alan Siege and SBMC, the Tarzian Hardware brand has become stronger and the business has become more profitable. I have worked with SBMC on a range of issues including long-range planning, expansion, staff training and development, customer service and inventory management. Working in all of these areas was made more challenging as Tarzian is a third generation family business, yet he was able to successfully navigate this difficult terrain.
In all of his work, Alan Siege has provided professional counsel in which he both supported my goals, yet challenged some of my assumptions, asking me questions no one else did. Along with being a sounding board, he presented me with “best practices” yet also found simple “work-a-rounds” to help me solve day-to-day problems. He is an accomplished business consultant. I highly recommend him.
Jajuan Burgess
Owner – Director of Sales and Events, Burgess Ventures
(Jajuan creates personalized, high-end “daycations” on the East end of Long Island, NY.)
Seeking a business consultant was an option I had been considering. After retaining Alan Siege, I feel it is imperative for any growing, start-up or small business to retain a consultant, specifically SBMC. Alan’s approach taught us to narrow our focus on the road to our goals & objectives, save time, energy and resources to implement them where needed most. His hands-on assistance kept us on a productive path as well.
Our company, Burgess Ventures, is an existing business (under a year old) which needed a marketing plan, as well as realistic direction for the upcoming season. SBMC definitely helped us grow into a solid business, gave us the confidence to compete in a competitive market and helped us (market) tell our story better. In the aggressive market of New York City, SBMC’s 20 years of experience is a vital tool to have on your side. There is no doubt that SBMC has helped us succeed, and we would recommend them to any small or growing business.
Yolanda Mercado
Founder and Owner, Do It – Creating Office Ease
(Do It offers a full range of business support services)
When I first began working with Alan Siege and SBMC, I was struggling about how to convert my 21+ years as an Executive Assistant at a major NYC bank into packages for my start-up business. Alan was very effective in not only helping me to translate my past work into specific sellable services; he helped me to re-train my frame of reference from an employee mentality to that of an entrepreneur. Working with Alan taught me to think like a business owner so I now approach building my business in a more professional and less emotional manner. His the bridge to cross to connect your dreams to help you see they’re possible and can come true. I totally recommend working with Alan to take you to the next level which at the present might be unimaginable to you, but he helps you get to your vision.
Mieko Mintz
Principal Mieko Mintz, Fashion Designer and Retailer
I’m a clothing designer from Japan and have had a boutique first in the West Village and now in Soho over the past ten years. When I met Alan Siege, I was not sure whether I wanted to continue with my store or not. With an option to extend my lease for another five years, I wanted some professional advice as to whether that made sense or not. During three months of consultations, Alan provided an independent analysis of my business with excellent suggestions as to how I might redirect my efforts and make my business more profitable.
Alan helped me see my business and make decisions based on reason and not just emotions. I believe that such outside professional advice is absolutely essential when facing difficult decisions, especially when an emotional attachment with a very personal business is involved. As they say, he helped me see the trees from the forest and ultimately to renew my lease with a better, more focused business plan.
Marc Valle
President Designs by Valle
https://www.valleedesign.com/
(Designs by Valle is a full service high-end residential and commercial design team)
Alan Siege was an important mentor to me when I started my business. Alan was also like my business therapist. Alan gave suggestions, assurances, and direction in every aspect of my business from minutiae to the big picture. The great thing about Alan is that he keeps his research in the business world and his mind on how that applies to your practical business needs. He pointed out inspirational and helpful books and articles and taught me more in our sessions than one year of business courses at a state university. My time with Alan definitely gave my business a strong map for today and tomorrow.
Eugene Lee
President Rolling Press. Inc.
https://www.rollingpress.com/
(Rolling Press is an environmentally-friendly “green” printing company)
Despite the many years of cumulative experience and academic study, I was finally able to discern with clarity the elusive and abstract concerns behind small business management, under the guidance of Alan Siege. Through open dialogue, we were able to identify and discuss the various issues I had at hand and address each one analytically, systematically, and effectively – all in a comfortable environment. Over the course of several months, I was able to start and finish writing copy for my text-heavy website, understand and monitor my staff in a mutually beneficial manner, manage my time for better performance, plan my first vacation in years, and delegate my responsibilities to where I am now able to do my intended job – that is, to run my business successfully. Ultimately, without Alan’s counsel, the progress of my business would essentially be otherwise.
Judith Engleman
Principal Playground Partisans
(Playground Partisans is clothing company specializing in children’s wear)
I first went to see Alan in March 2008 to help me with my company Playground Partisans, a children’s wear label, which I had started in January of 2007. Although developing designs and product concepts for the collection comes easy, figuring out how to grow a business into a sustainable enterprise does not. Alan quickly immersed himself in my business and worked with me to take my original ideas and expand them in ways I had not considered on my own.
He also helped to bring structure to what I was doing by assisting me with key aspects of my business such as financial planning, market analysis, and the development of a business plan. All of this allowed me to make much better decisions regarding the use of my time and the allocation of financial resources. I would recommend Alan to someone needing an assessment of their business and help in developing a strategy to make it succeed. I would like to thank Alan for keeping me focused by asking the right questions and challenging me to pursue a coherent business plan.
Terry Richmond
Founder and Partner, Birth Day Presence, Inc.
https://birthdaypresence.com/
(Birth Day Presence provides support and guidance to women before and after they give birth)
We are very happy with the guidance and mentoring we have received from Alan Siege . My business partner and I found ourselves running a growing and successful business with no real business experience. We felt overwhelmed and over our heads. Alan has helped us to formalize many important aspects of our business. He insisted and aided us in creating a spreadsheet so we could track expenses and income and project our growth. Sounds simple, but we had never gotten to this and believe me, it was illuminating. He has helped us to sort out all our “big ideas” so that we can prioritize and actually accomplish things instead of just having all these ideas. He has been a very important “third party” in our business partnership, encouraging us to clearly define each of our roles within the work we do, and giving us a neutral and thoughtful sounding board for our differences. I recommend Alan highly and am grateful for the help we have received.
Steve Schwartzman
Owner, ElderCare New York, Inc.
https://eldercareny.com/
(ElderCare New York provides comprehensive services for families dealing with the care and support of an elderly relative)
Alan helps keep me focused and motivated when I try to add new wrinkles to my business. He’s good at identifying key issues that need to be addressed, and helps turn ideas into reality.
Hannah Frahan and Jihan
Owners of Nest – a high-end home furnishings store
https://nestinteriorsny.com/
Our work with Alan Siege was absolutely vital to our professional and entrepreneurial growth. We were able to see more clearly the mistakes we had made in the past, and were able to to avoid making those same mistakes again. In the end, Alan helped us out of our conceptual phase (where we were stuck) and into the executional phase of business development.
David Silver and Sheri DiPelesi
2nd Helpings Restaurant
When we first began working with Alan Siege and Small Business Management Consulting, we were looking for ways to increase our revenue while maintaining my very personal service and attention to detail at our Natural Foods restaurant in Park Slope, Brooklyn. From the out set, Alan was very sensitive and respectful of our values and methods. Working with Alan was also fun and focused as he gave us very specific options as to how we could grow the company.
Perhaps the most compelling aspect of his approach was that it combined solid research on our industry with probing questions for us to think about to determine which path to take. Alan helped us come to the conclusion that growing the catering component of 2nd Helpings was the option most likely to increase our revenue while remaining true to our mission. We are now acting on this choice and we anticipate seeing a marked increase in our revenue within the next 12 months. We highly recommend Alan Siege and Small Business Management Consulting if you want clear, precise and personalized consulting to grow your business.
Robin Bady
Professional Storyteller
https://www.robinbady.com/
(Robin performs and conducts residencies throughout the United States)
Alan Siege is an outstanding business coach! He opened doors by clarifying business concepts and terminology. I have learned tools and strategies from him that I am successfully using to help me substantially grow my business.
Joseph Bruno and Brett Kearney
Bruno Kearney Architects, LLP
Alan Siege and Small Business Management Consulting was one of our first clients as we started our architectural practice in 2001. Alan commissioned us to design him a new office space for his business. It was from this original experience of working with Alan that when our business started to expand we felt secure in calling him to work with us. Alan was able to help us focus and define our working relationship as partners, determine employment strategies for staffing, develop short and long term goals to market and grow our business and outline our the mission of our practice.
In the process of implementing the work we did with Alan we found that we have been more successful in reaching our business goals. We are continuing to work with Alan Siege and Small Business Management Consulting periodically to insure that we are staying on track, evaluating the direction of our business and adapting strategies as our business expands and changes.
Nicole Rose,
CEO & Creative Director, ODM, Inc.
Alan Siege and SBMC helped me to clearly see and define the the landscape of my niche in the very competitive world of graphic and web design. In our time together he not only worked to gain an in-depth understanding of my products and services, but also took into account the value that I as a unique individual bring to my business. It is his ability to see both the programmatic challenges in a business and his understanding of the human behind the small business that make his work very thorough and effective. The result of our work together is that 4 months later business has increased exponentially. I have only just begun to implement a small segment of Alan’s invaluable consultation advice, I look forward to continued growth as I am able to incorporate the rest of his strategic guidance.
I reached a saturation point five years after launching my business, and I was trapped. I sought advice and feedback from Alan Siege, my original facilitator from my FastTrac NewVenture courses. Alan assisted me in developing methods for managing and overcoming the obstacles that were stopping me from taking my company to the next stage. Each weekly session felt like a conversation with an elderly acquaintance, but it was also a form of business counseling accompanied by sound advice. Homework assignments forced me to consider where my clients came from, how to find and add more clients, and to objectively assess how much money I had for growth.