Executive advisory · Orange County, CA
I help companies grow.
I'm Rick Scrimger, CEO of 2ndSHFT: business coach, fractional executive and strategy advisor. I work alongside owners and CEOs to rebuild the revenue engine, sharpen the team, and put the operating structure in place for the next stage of growth.
When to call
A vitamin or an aspirin.
Most clients arrive in one of two places. Either things are working and they want them working better, or something hurts and it needs to stop. Both are good reasons to talk.
Make good better
Growth is steady but flattening. You want a plan, a sharper sales team, and comp that pays for the right behavior.
Relieve the pain
Margins are slipping, a key hire left, or the owner is the bottleneck. You need a clear diagnosis and a fix this quarter.
What I do
Where the work happens.
Engagements are built around the business, not a package. Every one includes CEO-level advising, so the owner has a thinking partner the whole way through.
Strategy & planning
A plan the team can actually run, tied to numbers you track monthly.
- Strategic planning sessions
- Mission · Vision · Values
- Strategic marketing plans
Revenue engine
Territories, forecasts, and sales operations that make growth repeatable.
- Sales forecasting
- Sales operations
- B2B business reviews
- International business development
People & pay
An org chart and comp plan that reward the outcomes you want.
- Organizational development
- Compensation design
- Sales commission plans
- Culture work
Operations
Fewer fires and cleaner handoffs, from the warehouse to the P&L.
- Operations review
- Inventory management
- Process streamlining
Voice & reputation
Prepared leaders, before the microphone and before the crisis.
- PR and media coaching
- Crisis management planning
Capital & exit
A story and a set of numbers that hold up in front of investors or buyers.
- Raise pitch development
- Exit pitch development
How an engagement runs
Analyze. Identify. Advise. Execute.
Look under the hood
Financials, pipeline, org chart, and interviews with the people doing the work.
Name the constraint
Find the one or two things actually holding growth back, in plain language.
Build the plan
Priorities, owners, and dates the leadership team agrees to and can measure.
Stay for the work
I stay engaged while it gets done. Relationships, not transactions.
Client result · B2B distribution
From 8% growth back to a growth company.
The situation. A distributor that had compounded at 21% a year for fourteen years watched growth stall to roughly 8%. The team was busy, the product was good, and nobody could say exactly what had changed.
The work. We redrew sales territories, rebuilt the commission plan around margin, launched targeted promotions, and streamlined operations. Net income rose 153% in 2019 alone, and the gains kept compounding.
About Rick
An operator first.
“Seasoned operators are the difference when you're building the infrastructure for growth and scale.”
2ndSHFT started as after-hours project work, a true second shift, and became a full-time practice in 2019. The name stuck because it describes the job: helping a company move from running hard to running well.
I've sat in the seats my clients sit in. As president of Roland DGA I owned the number, built the team and answered to the board, and later I chaired an industry board myself. That's why the work is practical. Every recommendation comes with a plan for who does it and how you'll know it worked.
I keep the client list short on purpose, so each owner gets the time and attention the work needs.
Who I work with
A good fit, honestly.
Usually a fit
- Owner-led and founder-led companies, typically $5M–$100M in revenue
- B2B, distribution, manufacturing and professional services
- Leaders who want an outside view and are ready to act on it
- Companies preparing to raise capital, add leadership, or exit
Probably not a fit
- Pre-revenue startups looking for a co-founder
- Teams that want a report on the shelf rather than change in the business
- One-off tasks better handled by a specialist agency
Start the conversation
Ready to shift gears?
A first call is 30 minutes. We'll talk about where the business is, where you want it to be, and whether I'm the right person to help close the gap.