SOS was called in to help a client whose business was virtually bankrupt and listed on the EPA’s superfund list. Through a lack of knowledge and resistance to “government intrusion,” the client was faced with a failing business and unresolved personal liability for EPA and DEQ violations with potential criminal charges while operating under an unpaid, lapsed, and violated lease. SOS immediately took control of the operations and was proactive with the various government agencies as well as the landlord who was trying to evict the client’s operations. Though the initial relationships were very tumultuous, SOS ultimately resolved every issue and forged strong relations with various government agencies, the landlord, and the many other stakeholders. Per those relationships, the original company eventually morphed into a highly successful business that became a world player in its respective industry. The resulting profits were used to clean up the site of the failed business, to restore the landlord’s building, and to harvest from the failed business additional opportunities not before realized. The client retired a millionaire and satisfied all criminal liability with the payment of a fine without jail time.

SOS was hired by a small business that was very near bankruptcy with neither funds nor work. It had a product for which there was a market, but it could not fund the operational structure and equipment necessary to become competitive. SOS’ solution involved engaging a large potential customer in the client’s industry. SOS negotiated a supply contract with the customer subject to higher quality standards and better pricing over the customer’s present suppliers. SOS then leveraged that supply contract to acquire the funds needed to build the manufacturing facility and operational structure for its client. The client was successful in its endeavor and became the favored supplier that met or exceeded all quality and contract performance requirements. Through SOS’ efforts to optimize the opportunity and create the true win-win, long-term solution, the client became highly profitable by offering the most reliable on-time delivery, producing the best quality product, and delivering excellent customer service.

SOS was engaged by a client who was under contract to saw and fill millions of feet of highway joints in Arkansas. Its best performance was below that promised during the bidding process, and it was at risk of losing hundreds of thousands of dollars. After repeated efforts to meet production rates, the contractor determined that the estimator had mis-bid the project. Once on board, SOS spent one day reviewing the past efforts of the project, the metrics, and the management, and then watched the crews. At the beginning of the shift the following day, SOS told the crew that there was a cone on the side of the roadway – which was 30% farther than they had ever reached before – and if the crew reached the cone by shift-end, they would all get a steak dinner, compliments of SOS. The crew made the cone 45 minutes prior to shift-end. Thereafter, the contractor utilized a visible target for their production metric on their jobs, and through this very simple yet powerful solution, the contractor was able to satisfy its obligations under the contract.

A semi-conductor firm was having issues with premature failure of a certain part that was costing the firm tens of millions of dollars each year, and they needed a solution to get an edge in a competitive market. They had spent two years and millions of dollars trying to find a solution through research labs and universities. SOS approached the semi-conductor firm on behalf of a struggling client and proposed that the client be given an opportunity to solve the problem, and if the client was unsuccessful, there would be no charge. The semi-conductor firm agreed. SOS then assembled and managed a research team, which dug into the root cause of the failure. By taking a holistic view, the team was able to identify issues overlooked by other professional and collegiate efforts to solve the problem. The problem was multi-faceted and required a complex solution. SOS resolved it in two weeks. With the solution in hand, SOS negotiated a unique win-win deal between the semi-conductor firm and its client. SOS proposed that the semi-conductor firm be given the solution and resulting patent free of charge if SOS’ client could compete straight-up for the resulting business. It was a no-lose scenario for the semi-conductor firm. SOS then helped its client get operationally-capable and efficient to commercially manufacture the solution. The client ultimately became the sole supplier for the semi-conductor firm and made significantly more money than what it could have charged for the solution itself.

SOS was hired to sell a failing business. The business was not profitable because the customers had left to do business with seven other competitors, most of which were started by the client’s former employees. Its equipment was antiquated and in great disrepair. The facility was leased and the building was severely damaged and in need of substantial repairs. SOS enlisted a contractor who could make the needed repairs but also happened to be in need itself of a product that required servicing offered by the client. SOS affected a sale of the business to the contractor, which led to the repair of the facility and improvement of operations for both firms. The combined company is now a well-performing, highly-profitable business. The owners recently contacted SOS to assist them with selling the current company.

SOS was engaged by a business owner who was worn-out from the stress of owning a business and frustrated with the lack of understanding from his employees. The client had resolved to sell the business. After getting to know the owner, SOS determined the business owner really loved the business, but he just could not handle the stress associated with an inefficient organizational structure. With that in mind, SOS reorganized the operations and tapped the talents and abilities of the existing employees that had gone unseen and undeveloped by the owner. Together, SOS and the client fortified the organization with additional talent and installed a more detailed business plan, so the owner could see where the company would be at year end, and identified the key issues on which to focus. At story’s end, the key employees loved their new roles and opportunities, the firm greatly expanded, and the owner had the business he always wanted.

A business with multiple outlets was in financial and potentially legal trouble. By the time SOS came on board, some of the client’s operations had shut down, and assets had been seized. SOS quickly determined that the cost structure for the unique offering of the business was unreasonable. Moreover, the owner’s skill-set was not matched to the specific demands of the business. SOS seized control of the downward-spiraling business and resolved to shut it down without creating any new victims. SOS was able to get the owner a life after the failure of his business, resolve his legal liabilities, and focus him in a direction that tapped his core abilities, all the while maximizing the asset liquidation for creditors and unweaving seventy (70) parties from becoming entangled in the business failure.