CONSULTING

90-Day Engagement

For owners who know something in the business needs to change. I help you decide what, then see it through with your team.

Schedule a conversation

One clear objective

The most pressing constraint in the business

12 weeks

Focused sessions to start, then biweekly check-ins

The change in place and working

Designed with me, built by your team or a specialist

One clear objective

The most pressing constraint in the business

12 weeks

Focused sessions to start, then biweekly check-ins

The fix in place and working

Designed with me, built by your team or a specialist

The business is working, and yet something isn't working the way it should.

You may have invested in marketing, sales, or people, but profit hasn't followed the way you expected. You may already have a sense of what's wrong, or a few theories.

What you want is to know what's actually constraining the business, make a decision about it, and see the change through.

A 90-Day Consulting Engagement is built to find what's actually constraining the business and see the change through.

We start with you: what you want from the business, what you need it to earn, and the role you want in it.

From there, I look at the whole business, working from your real numbers and the conversations we have with your team, and recommend the best path forward. You make the final decision about what to address first.

Then we bring your team into that decision and put it to work. I design the solution, your team or a specialist builds it. I stay involved until it's in place and working, keeping it accountable to the plan and helping solve problems as they come up.

Who this is for

This engagement is a good fit if you run an established service business where growth has started taking more work than it should and profit isn't keeping pace with what you're putting in.

It works best when:

You're willing to look at the whole business and make the decisions it calls for
You’re willing to look at your real numbers, even if getting them in order is part of the work
You have people who can do the work, or the budget to bring in the right help. That might be a leadership team, a small staff, part-time or fractional support, or an assistant or office manager.

A different fit

If you have one specific question that a single conversation can address, a Private Strategy Session is the better place to start. If you want to work through something large in one concentrated stretch and carry the plan forward yourself, the Private Strategy Intensive is built for that.

Compare ways to work together →

How it works

The stages often overlap, but the work generally runs like this:

WEEKS 1 TO 3

See the whole picture

We start with you: your goals, your constraints, and what you need to earn for the work to be sustainable. I review your numbers and materials, have the conversations we need with your team, and bring you a written assessment.

If the numbers aren’t clear enough to make good decisions from, getting them clear may become the focus for the 90 days, or I’ll connect you with someone who can sort them out while we work on something else.

Then we decide together on the version of the business you’re building and the one focus for the quarter.

WEEK 4

Get aligned

In a working session, we bring the people involved into the decision. You leave with a written plan, clear ownership, and a shared understanding of what matters this quarter.

WEEKS 5 TO 8

Design and build

I deliver the design for the solution, in enough detail that your team or the help you bring in can build from it. Every other week, we check progress, work through problems, and make sure the quality is there.

WEEKS 9 TO 12

Put it to work

The solution goes into use. I check that it’s working as designed, answer questions as they come up, and we adjust what needs adjusting.

COMPLETION

Closing session

We review what changed, look at what the work revealed underneath, and decide what comes next: another 90-day engagement, ongoing advisory, or nothing further if you have what you need.

At the end of 90 days, you'll have

A clear answer about what's constraining the business.
Based on your real numbers and on how marketing, sales, delivery, and operations are working together.
An accurate picture of what the business gives you now.
Your income, your time, and your role today, measured against what you want from it.
A decision about the version of the business you're building.
What it's for, who it serves, what it needs to produce financially, what it will stop doing, and what your role in it will be.
A written plan the business can follow.
The one focus for the quarter, the outcomes that define success, who owns what, and what comes next.
A team working from the same priorities.
The people involved understand the decision and know which part of it belongs to them.
The most pressing constraint addressed.
The solution designed, built by your team or the help you bring in, and in use, with someone responsible for keeping it running.
A defined next step.
What the work revealed underneath, and what deserves your attention next.

What this looks like in practice

He thought he needed more marketing

A fitness business had tried social media, email, and a podcast with inconsistent results. The real constraints were financial clarity, capacity, and leadership, so we addressed those first and activated marketing last.

Results: Within six months, personal training revenue rose over 10 percent, overhead fell, and the owner took two full weeks away for the first time.

A projected loss that never happened

A training and events company brought me in for marketing. The real issues were a leadership structure the business couldn’t support and planning spread across too many priorities. We restructured, cut costs, and put stronger financial management in place.

Results: A projected multiple six-figure loss became a profitable year, with about $200,000 in debt paid down along the way.

Included in the engagement

A review of the whole business, including your goals, your numbers, and how the parts of the business affect each other
A written finding and a guided decision about the version of the business you're building
A written plan with the one focus for the quarter and clear ownership
The detailed design for the solution, yours to keep
Relevant templates delivered for your team to adapt
Oversight through the build and rollout: accountability, quality control, and help solving problems
A closing session to review results and set the next focus

Scoped separately

My role is the thinking behind the decisions and the guidance through the work. Anything built or customized is done by your team or scoped separately, such as:

System installs, automations, and customized templates
Website, copy, and visual brand work
Campaigns and other produced materials

You own the plan and can build it with whomever you choose. Any separate work is scoped as soon as the focus is set, so it can finish within the 90 days.

Investment

$9,000 to $18,000 for the 90 days

Based on the size of your team and the complexity of the business. We'll confirm the fit and the price when we talk.

You can pay in full or in three monthly payments.

Private Strategy Session fee is credited if you start within 30 days of your session.

Who you'll be working with

I’m Rachel Anzalone, founder of Ease & Acumen. Before I began advising, I worked inside businesses at every stage of growth, from helping build the operating structure for a cafe company preparing to franchise to running seven restaurant locations with 350 employees. Since then, I’ve guided many owners of service businesses across industries as they built the systems their businesses run on.

What I’ve learned is that the problem an owner brings in is rarely the one that needs solving first. That’s where a session starts: working out what’s actually going on underneath, before deciding what to do about it.

More about me →

"I was just successful enough to keep myself confused until Rachel.

I paid her to show me what she knows. I always say: find out who your mentors go to to learn."

Lisa Nichols | Founder & CEO, Motivating the Masses

Your questions, answered

How often do we meet?

The first four weeks move at a tighter pace: two sessions with you, a decision session, and a working session with your team. From week 5 on, we meet every other week for check-ins and accountability, with an added call when a stretch of the work calls for it. Between calls, you can reach me in writing, and I respond within one business day.

Do we meet in person or virtually?

Sessions are virtual. If you're in San Antonio, some sessions may be held in person.

Who from my team is involved?

You attend the sessions and make the decisions. If you choose, you can name one person as the point of contact for the work, and the people involved need time for their conversations with me and the work assigned to them.

What if the work falls behind?

I hold the work accountable throughout and flag early when a date is at risk. If it still is, we decide together what it needs, whether that's a week or two to finish, a fix for capacity, someone else brought in to do the work, or an extension into additional months.

What if I need to cancel?

You can cancel with 30 days' written notice, and you remain responsible for payment through the notice period. Notice given after day 60 means the full fee is due. Because the work is being done throughout the engagement, fees aren't refunded. If something isn't working, the first step is to find a way to resolve it together.

What happens after the 90 days?

In the closing session, we review what changed and decide what comes next. That might be another 90-day engagement with a new objective, ongoing advisory, or nothing further if you have what you need.