Where small businesses become future-proof by leveraging advanced technology and exceptional leadership.

Is your company leveraging new and advanced technologies to improve its competitive edge? Or does it not believe it’s necessary to do so, at least not right now? Whatever the case may be, it’s very clear that technologies are advancing so rapidly in every sphere of life that businesses that don’t embrace it will simply be made redundant. So…

…your business faces two simple choices.

1) Embrace and leverage technologies to its advantage.

2) Ignore advancing techologies and become irrelevant.

If you think that your business is too small or too local to have to worry about changing the way you use technology, think again. Companies of all shapes and sizes are thinking about it, and if they’re smart, they’re using it to increase their efficiencies and profits. Taking a passive approach in a world that is embracing new technologies at the speed of light could cost you countless opportunities, and maybe even your business.

The Future-Proof Business is obsessed with helping small businesses with 200 employees or less future-proof their companies by anticipating and pivoting around continuous change.

How We Future-Proof Small Businesses

Consulting Services

Ensuring that your company remains successful and relevant in an ever-changing global business environment is what drives and motivates us. With a strong focus on leveraging advanced technologies to significantly increase your competitiveness, we offer three core consulting services either individually or collectively:

  • =Leveraging advanced technologies
  • =Change management
  • =SAFe Agile Methodology
Consulting Services

Leadership & Team Development

Businesses that remain successful over the next ten years will do so in part by constantly developing their leaders and high-performing teams. In fact, improving “soft skills” and overall leadership abilities will be an increasingly critical differentiator in the upcoming years. We offer three core services to leaders and their teams:

  • =Leadership assessments (individuals or groups)
  • =Leadership and team coaching
  • =Virtual team management
Leadership & Team Development

Most people – even small business owners – are surprised to learn that 99.9% of businesses in the U.S. are “small” (200 employees or less).

Unfortunately, their survival rate is low.

Fortunately, if your business is trending in any of these directions, we can help.

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Percentage of small businesses that fail within 5 years.

%

Percentage of small businesses that fail due to lack of demand.

%

Percentage of small businesses that fail because they run out of cash.

%

Percentage of small businesses that fail because they don't have the right team.

Who We Serve

We serve small businesses (with 200 employees or less) that fall into one or more of these categories:

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Growing

Growth is exciting, but can create aches and pains in often unsuspecting areas of the organization. We help you understand, navigate and optimize your expansion from primarily a  technology optimization perspective, and also from the strategic, people, and operational perspectives.
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Strengthening the Leadership Bench

Many small business are so focused on increasing revenue that they unintentionally neglect developing the team members with the skills needed to take the business to the next level. Making this mistake will cost a business revnue at best, and long-term viability at the worst.
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Disorganized / Inefficient

Even if you’re comfortable with your profitability, streamlining every facet of your organization by implementing smart technologies and agile methodologies to optimize efficiencies should be one of your top priorities. Businesses that are not laser-focused on this simply will not thrive over the next five years.
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Adjusting to Shifting Team Dynamics

Team configurations and roles have changed dramatically over the past few years. Most companies have shifted to a virtual or hybrid work model without properly transitioning their teams from in-person to remote environments. This often results in results in reduced productivity, motivation, focus, and  more. There are simply and higly effective ways to address this. 
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Going through Big Changes

For most people, change is hard, and unfortunately, most of the time, change initiatives fail. But understanding the positive impact that strategic changes can bring is a critical part of growing a thriving business, and helping companies successfully implement change initiatives is one of our expertises.

Professional Certifications

About Us

We love what we do. And others do too!

Bruce Jackson

Executive Director, Institute of Applied Human Excellence

Marina is passionate about, and highly effective at, helping people navigate the complexities of their leadership journey – especially through her unique and informed perspectives on intercultural and inter-generational connections. Whether you are looking to navigate these complex unique business and leadership perspective, or simply need an experienced consultant, business executive, and focused partner to help you take your personal and professional skills to the next level, I highly recommend you reaching and exploring your goals with her.

Marina’s thoughtful perspectives, questions, probes, challenges, support, and accountability strategies have helped me make significant positive changes that I can see and measure.

Matthew Holicek

President, Create Media, Inc.

Marina and her team were instrumental in leading my organization through a critical change management initiative. She made implementing the Prosci ADKAR change model look easy, and successfully took my team through a prickly internal systems change process. Honestly, I’m not sure how well the change effort would have gone without her expertise. And I’m glad I didn’t have to find out!

Brian C. Jones

Managing Director, 3-C Labs, Inc.

Marina’s direct yet warm communication style immediately resonated with me at the outset of our coaching work together. The effectiveness of her structured executive coaching program allowed me to explore my past professional narratives and courageously re-imagine how a new leadership career path can, and should, evolve. Her skilled questioning enabled me to re-envision my passions and experiment with the framing of my self-imposed limitations in a way that has liberated my thinking as an individual and as an organizational leader.

Marina’s refined coaching skills have had an immeasurable and positive impact on the way I now approach complex decisions and leadership choices.

Wendi Shelton

Former Director of Special Projects, Fortune 500 Company

Marina’s skillful coaching helped me define my core leadership strengths and longer-term vision. She empowered me to look at my professional challenges through a variety of lenses, ultimately guiding me to very meaningful insights and solutions. Marina helped me understand myself more accurately, gain clarity on how to best play to my professional strengths, and design a long-term roadmap.

Marina’s purposeful questioning and gentle prodding helped lead me to solid decisions. I am a better leader today because of her coaching.

Elaine Jacques

Executive Director, Former Director of Speech Pathology

Coaching with Marina has facilitated my professional growth with timely insights that have helped me build a stronger foundation for my career moving forward. Marina’s coaching strengths include a strong client-centered focus and wonderful empathetic listening skills. Marina excels at clarifying goals, shining light on and addressing any fears that may be impeding progress, and laying the groundwork for actively moving forward more confidently.

Anyone seeking to grow their emotional intelligence and interpersonal communications skills, should definitely take the opportunity to work with Marina!