Thom Stimpel

Business adviser, Business leader, Change Agent, Educator/Teacher, Entrepreneur, Project manager, Writer/Editor

Thompson “Thom” Stimpel is the Founder & Managing Director of Proactive Business Improvements, LLC – a global business advisory group founded in 2002. As a transformational leader with more than 40 years of multi-product, multi-market, multi-national experience, Thom is acknowledged for his unique ability to convert “strategic concepts” into “operational realities”. His ability to relate to and communicate effectively with a wide array of businesses stems from his unusually vast experience in a very broad set of businesses, vocations, organizations and roles. Thom has restructured global trade organizations, developed systems integration project management methodologies, overseen new product development teams, controlled the assets of a multi-million-dollar tech company, worked with the International Olympic Committee, and reengineered distribution processes for aerospace subcontractors. He’s also enjoyed success in more routine jobs - over 40 in all - like production planning and warehouse control systems in manufacturing environments, working in and supervising staff at fine dining restaurants, designing, implementing and managing ISO 9000 Quality Management Systems for manufacturers, selling insurance and investment products, driving a truck, building houses, and working on a cattle ranch. As a Business Advisor, his mission today is to Defeat the Epidemic of Small Business Failures in the US. That is the focus of his book, “The Entrepreneurial Mindset”, and the theme of his TED journey.

Defeating the Epidemic of Small Business Failures in the US! I know how to do this, but cannot do it alone ... it will take a massive effort by the majority of the small business community. There is a specific lesson in history that I leverage to illustrate how this can be done, and I hope to share that through TED, and in seminars, training programs and speeches across the country.

We all know that the US economy is driven by small business, but few people realize the scope of that statement. Every year, nearly 80% of the US GDP is driven by businesses with 5 of fewer employees. That's amazing! But of the new businesses begun every year, on average, 54% fail within 2 years and an astonishing 97% fail within 5 years. And since the pandemic, there have been fewer starts than failures. That's adds urgency to the solution. The SBA and the US Chamber of Commerce agree that most of these failures occur for only a handful of similar reasons. I agree, because I have seen these issues first hand. To begin with, many people are not equiped to be entrepreneurs ... they don't have the skills, the patience, the lknowledge, the support, the resources, the attitude, the apptitude ... and most are focused on thier desired accomplishment, instead of their customers wants and needs. My book,"The Entrepreneurial Mindset" explores all these issues. It begins with a self-assessment, allowing aspiring entrepreneurs to determine if they have what it takes to proceed. It then walks through my methodology for envisioning, researching, planning, implementing and managing a business, in a very specific sequence of events that, if followed to the letter, vastly improves anyones opportunity for success. Imagine this: (Taking a little liberty with the numbers for simplicity sake) ... Today, if 3% of small businesses succeed - and they drive ~80% of the US economy, what would happen if we consistently boosted that success rate by even 1 or 2 percent. We would experience a nationwide economic boom unlike any other!

Business Process Reengineering, Change Management, Competitive Advantage, Mission & Vision, Operations, Organizational Development, Start-ups & Turn-arounds, Strategic Planning, Zero-based Budgeting

Using a familar historic event, and it's lessons, I tell the underlying story that few people know about. This combination of history and todays' reality combine to illustrate how we can defeat the epidemic of small business failures in this country, if entrepreneurs care about their community, pay attention and participate in the solution.

Converting strategic concepts into operational realities.