Justin Abrams with Aryo Consulting Group

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Houston, Texas. It’s time for Houston Business Radio. Now, here’s your host.

Trisha Stetzel: Hello, Houston. Trisha Stetzel here bringing you another episode of Houston Business Radio. My guest today is a game changer in the world of small business consulting. Justin Abrams is the founder and CEO of Aryo Consulting Group, known as the McKinsey for Small Business based in Boston. ACG delivers strategy, growth and optimization without the corporate price tag. Justin’s firm helps has helped over 300 businesses, including Pfizer, Sony and Bayer. Grow smarter, often without spending a dime on ads. Instead, they leverage organic strategies like Reddit, local SEO, and community driven content to generate leads that stick. Also, Justin I know don’t get read yet because I’m not finished. Recognized as a top consulting firm by clutch and among other works, top 1% expert vetted teams Justin and ACG bring clarity, innovation and results to founders who are ready to scale with purpose. He’s here today to talk business leadership and why small businesses deserve world class strategy, and he’s got the playbook to back it up. Justin, welcome to the show.

Justin Abrams: Trisha, that was amazing. That was the nicest intro I’ve ever heard about myself. I really appreciate it.

Trisha Stetzel: Yeah, absolutely. I’m so excited to have you on the show. We were just, uh, riffing before we started recording, and it’s been a few months since we’ve gotten together, so I’m really excited that we have this opportunity today together. So first, I’d like to start with tell us more a little bit about Justin and how you got into the consulting business in the first place.

Justin Abrams: Yeah, so Aria was really started out of necessity during the pandemic. A lot of my friends and family, uh, needed advice. They had small businesses and things had changed so drastically, um, that it really just became more of a how do I help my friends and family rather than how do I build a business? As this started to grow and I realized, like, these solutions, uh, were practical takes just about everyone in this space. Uh, it was really it started to kind of fester my mind. Like, maybe I should start a business out of this, like, I. I thought it was at the right time. There was a lot of need for for kind of an updating in your systems and kind of going, as we’ve always done, started to change. So, uh, tried to get a few clients, got really lucky and started getting some of the larger clients as well. Sony was one of our first clients and it just kind of grew from there. Uh, really again, organically. Like, I was not expecting to start a business. Uh, and then, you know, five years later, I’m extremely thrilled to be here with this business.

Trisha Stetzel: Wow. That’s amazing. You know, I think that happens often. We get we start doing something that we love for others who need the skill or the service that we can provide, and then we decide to open a business. So let’s talk about that. Let’s talk about these small businesses and um, how you’re able to take this, these big business ideas and apply it to smaller businesses through, um, different strategies and things that people may not have top of mind.

Justin Abrams: Yeah. Well, I think the biggest thing with the small businesses is that they start to get really content based on their revenue as that business owner sees for their lifestyle. So if they’re making around $1 million a year, they look at their their annual salary and their take home pay and they start to say, this is great. I don’t need to really work any harder. I don’t I don’t want to work 80 hours a week anymore. And they take their foot off the gas a bit. Um, which is totally understandable. There’s nothing wrong with that. Um, but the thing that I start to get worried about is like a there’s a exit plan that’s going to happen. So if you’re a 40 to 50 year old business owner and you’re, you know, you have the lifestyle that you want, your kids are starting to grow up. So you want to spend more time with them. That’s excellent. But someone’s going to have to take this over. And so you need to think kind of a longer term approach of what is this look like in 15 years when I want to go sell it is it’s still going to be a 1 to $1.2 million business. Like that’s great. But that’s not maybe a nest egg that people are comfortable with. I mean, $1 million today is not the same as it was ten years ago.

Justin Abrams: Uh, so so it’s really a question of like looking almost to the future, like a financial advisor and saying, where do we really need to get to? And what does that take? Um, that’s the first thing. Uh, and then the other thing is just so, so many businesses, all they know is their business. So they’re experts that they’re one thing. But because we’ve had 300 plus clients, I can tell you I have this case study experience over so many various examples and saying like, because so many people come to me, they’re like, all right, let’s start doing TikTok ads. I see those are going off. I’m like, all right, we run the test. Like, I can tell you exactly how much you should spend. Or I think it’s a bad idea to run TikTok ads for, you know, x, y, z business. So it’s a really good way for them to bounce ideas off of me. And I can tell them, real world, this is working or not working. Um, and just really, I try to think of us as like a primary care physician. They come to us consistently, they ask us their other, they tell us their problems, and I help diagnose it and then get them on their way to to growth.

Trisha Stetzel: Yeah, I love that. So I want to go back to the first thing that you talked about, which is exit strategy. And, you know, beginning with the end in mind is so important. But yet, as you do, I see a lot of businesses out there that aren’t thinking about the end. They’re only thinking about where they’re at right now, and it feels they get to a position where they feel good and they’re like, well, I’m just going to stay here for a little while, not thinking about someday. You don’t want to just let your business go. You want you either want to leave a legacy and pass it down. If you have a family business, right, or you want it to be bankable and something that you can actually sell for a profit, I think that’s so important. And then to your second point around, we’re all experts in one space as we should be, right? As small business owners, we should focus on the thing that we’re really good at and then ask Justin for advice on the things that we’re not very good at, so that you can help us with that direction. Can you talk about. I’d love to talk a little bit about marketing because you you brought up TikTok, and I think this is really important. And we see a lot of business owners buying ads on LinkedIn or Facebook or TikTok or wherever they’re spending their money. Um, how much should a small business be spending on marketing, generally speaking? And why should they be spending money on marketing?

Justin Abrams: Great question. And okay, the first answer is that they should be spending as much as they can. That will actually work, because if I am making $1 million a year in my business and I’m spending $50,000 on ads, if they’re if that’s what’s getting me to that million dollars. Then by all means, do that. What I find most small businesses is they’re spending 50,000. There may be only making 100,000 off of that. And then if they’re actually thinking about what’s their actual margin, they’re oftentimes net negative. I come into at least half of my companies that I come into. I realize they’re really not making a profit on their marketing. So I really try to dial it down to start maybe a few percentage. And then once we see where we’re actually getting the profit from, and maybe we funnel some of that money into a different strategy, um, then we can really grow if it’s working. If you’re getting A5X return on your investments, let’s keep spending more. That’s great. But most people are not even getting a 1 to 1. Or maybe they’re getting a 2 to 1 and that isn’t really reproducible.

Trisha Stetzel: Mhm. Okay. So they need to come talk to Justin. Uh. All right. Um, when we’re talking about growth in these businesses and, you know, whether it’s through marketing or other things that we’re doing, um, you know, we we talk about double digits in growth every year or annually. You’re saying we should grow by 20% annually. Let’s talk more about that.

Justin Abrams: Yeah. So this is a really hard thing for people to wrap their mind around. Um, I would say it’s really a question of inflation. Number one, so if you’re not growing at least by maybe 5 or 6% a year, you’re actually losing money due to inflation, especially some industries. It’s even worse. Um, a lot of the, the employer based where you have high costs on employees benefits are going up five, 6% a year. Salaries are maybe going up 7 or 8% depending on this face. Or maybe you can’t hire. And so now you have to really struggle and pay more. So it’s easily a 6 or 7% growth that you need to have. But then you need to look at your business and realize there’s a lot of consolidation on all of these businesses. I think 100,000 baby boomers a day retire. Those people that are retiring are selling their business, and those people that are buying them are young, hungry, scrappy. They’re trying to combine all of these businesses, cut costs, maybe consolidate the CRM, consolidate the back end. And so they’re looking when I speak to them, they’re always looking at 20%. So if you’re not going at at least 15 to 20%, it’s going to be very difficult for you to compete with them because they’re coming in hard and fast and and consolidating where you can actually see that growth. So definitely want that 15 to 20%.

Trisha Stetzel: Yeah. That’s awesome Justin. So, uh, I know that there are some folks out there who are already interested in having a conversation with you. So what is the best way to get in contact with you, Justin?

Justin Abrams: Yeah. So our websites are wired for consulting group. Com. You can find us online. You can follow us on LinkedIn. My name is Justin Abrams on LinkedIn. I’m based in Boston. Uh, they can definitely reach out. And I love to talk to every small business owner I can. Even if we’re not going to work with them. I love to bounce ideas off of them and vice versa.

Trisha Stetzel: Fantastic. Thanks, Justin. Let’s talk about you. Talk about financial engineering to grow your business. Tell me more about that.

Justin Abrams: Yeah. So I think it’s a misunderstood part of business, uh, that you can actually put very little amount of money down, similar to buying a home but actually buying a similar business. So if you’re an HVAC company in Houston and, you know, and I’ll just take a step back and say a lot of the private equity guys, they’re already doing this. But if you’re a HVAC guy in Houston, you might already know the best guy near you and have a good relationship and a good rapport. And he’d much rather sell his business to you than to sell to some New York private equity. Guy’s just not even going to care. So you have this relationship, you have this knowledge, you know, his business inside and out. And, yeah, maybe 65. He wants to retire. So what you can do is if they’re if they’re growing and you want to look at their books, you can then buy their business. Put about 5 to 10% down. You’ve now potentially doubled your revenue. And you just have a small monthly fee that you have to pay off every year. But not only do you now have a great situation where you just have like basically a loan because you’re a larger business. The larger the business, the higher value you you have. So if it’s a $1 million business, you might have a lower multiple than a two or a $3 million business. So you’ve basically it’s like a two, a one plus one equals three. In a lot of ways it’s a great way to grow your business.

Trisha Stetzel: Wow. That’s a fantastic idea. And I know in the Houston area, there are a lot of small business owners that are ready to retire. I heard you say that there’s a very large number of baby boomers that are retiring on a daily basis, and I know a lot of those must be part of the millions of people who are here in the Houston area. So, Justin, as a as a consultant and in that space, it you’re open to work to not working with anybody but having a conversation with anybody. And I think that’s fantastic that you’re open to just let’s have a conversation and see where it goes. Why? What is the biggest reason why people engage with you to help them with their business.

Justin Abrams: I would say the largest one is really people are stuck. They’ve hit a plateau on their sales and they are realizing that they need to do something. Something needs to change.

Trisha Stetzel: So how do they what’s the first step with the folks that who. So you’re going to have a conversation with them. And I think that’s fantastic. What’s usually the first step that you take with your brand new clients?

Justin Abrams: Yeah, I like to just look under the hood, see what’s going on. Where’s the marketing? Where’s the spending? Tell me a little bit about the organization, the employees. Why have you felt it’s slowing down? It’s slowing down because a new competitor is in town. Is it slowing down because, uh, maybe maybe just sales have not been so great in that area. Maybe there’s, uh, people leaving that area. Is it macro related? Is it something that you did? Um. You know what? What is the. I want to hear what you think, and then I can do my own research, but which will not cloud it. But I just want to understand what is your reason for for coming to me. And what are your thoughts? Um.

Trisha Stetzel: I love that. And no judgment. Right. It’s just kind of where you are. And why are you stuck? And then you’re going to go do your homework so that you can bring back some really great information for them. Um, I happen to know that your dad was a veteran. So can we talk about can we talk about that just a little bit?

Justin Abrams: Sure. Yeah. My dad was a major in the Army. He was in there for 15 years. He just missed out on Vietnam. But, um, you know, definitely kind of the just. He was obsessed with the Army. He was stationed all over the world, Germany for a number of years. Um, and he had that kind of Cold War, Uh, Easter, eastern Germany. Kind of stationing. Um, he never literally thought he was going to be in the military his whole life. Um, like, was ready to be a general, like in his mind. Um, he hit 39 or 40, maybe. And he ended up getting set up with, uh, at the time, a woman turned out to be my mom. Uh, you know, so he he ended up leaving. But 15 amazing years and, uh, you know, he’s he’s the kind of person that I look, just I just look at him like he’s lived a life far better than anything I’m doing. I wish I could give back as much as him, but, uh, this is maybe a small percentage of what I can do.

Trisha Stetzel: Yeah, I, I love that. And, you know, we all have a little bit of space to give back, and we’re going to do it in our own way. And I can see that kindness through even our conversation today. So the I want to ask how his story has really impacted you. And I hear part of it where you want to be able to give back. But what is the impact that your father’s story has on you as a grown person today?

Justin Abrams: You know, I think part of it is really strategically thinking, you know, he when he was working and, and leading hundreds of of people or thousands of people, it’s really a question of like, how do I strategically make everyone in this battalion better? And what’s the what’s the long term plan? He’s still to this day, as you know, strategy games and stuff that he’s always I mean, he beats me in chess every time I play and it’s very frustrating. So I think it’s it’s just a way to think through the, the way that I think through businesses. A lot of the way that he thinks through through military strategy, um, and using that kind of knowledge has been really helpful. Um, so yeah, that’s certainly one way. And I think just his idea of giving back. Like, I could go to the large conglomerates and try to sell our services. But to me, it’s not something I enjoy. And personally, I don’t think, uh, you get to reward as much.

Trisha Stetzel: Yeah. Well, and, you know, being able to take this big business idea and bring it to smaller businesses, I think is so important. And that’s a huge give back to the community to be able to provide that type of knowledge, innovation and strategy to provide back to these smaller businesses. So as we get to the back end of our conversation, I’d love to hear more about some of these tools that you’re utilizing with your smaller businesses so that you can help with cost savings, um, and how you’re able to help utilize those with your clients.

Justin Abrams: Yeah. I mean, we use a ton of different tools, um, that really are. It really depends on the type of clients, but a lot of them are utilizing just modern AI workflows. So things like inbound, um, text and messages, we can automate a lot of that stuff. You know, I have a client right now. They’re getting about 30 or 40 inbound requests a day. It’s just too much for one human to manage. Um, and a lot of them are very basic questions. Can you give me an idea? Can you tell me the pricing? What are, you know, what are your thoughts on x, Y, and Z? So it’s it’s something that a human could do, but it’s almost a waste of that humanness because they’re behind their desk now answering questions. It’s not it’s not right. So I try to really push what can be basically like not human work, like robotic type of monotonous work that we’ve had to use humans. But now we can put your humans onto the things that make you money, which is sales, customer relationships, outreach, uh, conferences. Like, I talked to a sales guy the other day. I said, take the number of conferences that you’re going to and triple it. We can automate all the nonsense and the proposals and all that stuff. Let’s get you in front of the right people. That’s what matters.

Trisha Stetzel: I saw you light up when you started talking about AI and automation, so I’d like to dig around in there for just a minute, because I know there are a lot of people listening today that may still be a little afraid of A.I. and when we’re talking about AI, we’re not just talking about chat bots, we’re talking about other ways of automation, like what Justin was talking about being able to answer questions to your audience, having an automated FAQ. Basically, if we want to bring it down to a lower level. So talk to me about AI and why our small business owners should be embracing it instead of running away from it.

Justin Abrams: So the beautiful thing about small businesses in comparison to the large businesses is large businesses cannot afford to make a mistake at all. They do not. Pfizer cannot have a chatbot on their site that accidentally gives you the wrong dosage. Something, God forbid, happens. And there’s a, you know, something horrible happens, right? That is something that by nature, AI is going to make that mistake at scale with millions of patients. It’s going to do that. So they can’t really embrace it in the same way that small business that maybe gets 20 or 30 messages a month, you know, that’s not a big deal. If you if you say, uh, yeah, that was our chatbot. I’m sorry we gave you the wrong quote for plumbing. You know, plumbing contract. It’s no big deal. So that’s the beautiful thing that I see AI being able to bridge that gap and also really cutting some of the costs. So now you don’t have a person responding to every message. You can have them doing other more valuable things. I don’t see it as cutting employment at all. I see it as being able to move like humans into the right part of the business to grow it. And that’s again, that’s just something that if you’re at JP Morgan, you can’t have a chat bot doing it all or it’s just too much, too many mistakes. So it’s a huge benefit and I think you can be shy of it. You can be afraid. Um, but why not embrace it and start slow?

Trisha Stetzel: Yeah. And go learn a little bit, even if it’s helping you with your calendar or maybe an FAQ forward facing or something that answers your phones. It’s such a time saver. And then you can put the right people in the right places doing the right things that they’re good at, right? Uh, instead of the things that they’re not so good at. All right. So here’s my last question for you. Well, it’s not really a question, but a statement. Tell me your favorite story. It can be a client story or your favorite Justin story.

Justin Abrams: Oh, this is a great question. So I think, uh, I think my favorite story is really on. Um, I have a local landscaper. He is in a similar position to a lot of your, uh, your listeners, um, they’re doing a little under $1 million a year. Um, in similar fashion to what we were talking about before. His father had a their rival, but they were really rival landscaping company as well. And he passed away. And that is a big catalyst of these of the the best small businesses is just an untimely death. So he had to take over. Now he has two companies and he has to take it over, Figure out all the systems, how to grow it. For a year he did that, and he then looked at his annual profit and loss. That. All right, I’m spending way too much. So what? All we did, we came in, spent about a month looking at everything, testing a few things, and we realized he was spending about $40,000 a year on marketing and making -$10,000. It was actually losing him. Customers. I don’t know how, but he was losing him money. So the first thing we did, I just said, let’s let’s just cut it all.

Justin Abrams: You’re not making any money from it. Let’s just cut it all. His profit has doubled this year. Just by just just cutting those things off. We’re running some SEO. We’re running some local community groups. Yes, but there’s no cost to that other than some some minor ongoing maintenance. And it’s totally changed now. I say this is like some great thing I did. The trust that he has to do to just turn off the faucet. That’s something that’s very hard to do. I say most most of my clients wouldn’t have the faith in me. So I think it’s when I say, like, what’s the most impressive? I always say having that faith, believing that I know what’s best. That’s I mean, I don’t trust anyone. I understand. It’s like it’s a hard it’s a dog eat dog world, and I understand, but that’s one of the things where I found a customer really believes in me. Even though, you know, I don’t know anything about landscaping, but I can look at the books and kind of tell him how to do it.

Trisha Stetzel: Because you have the experience and expertise in business, and that’s what’s most important. Thank you for sharing that. I, uh, what a great story about a family owned business by accident. Yeah. And, you know, unfortunate situation, but we find ourselves in those kinds of positions quite often, where we have aging parents or grandparents that own businesses, and the person who’s receiving that business just doesn’t know anything about them. So thank you for being there right along and helping this gentleman grow his profit by twice. Uh, just from cutting off something that he’s spending too much money on. Right. And not getting a return. Fantastic. This has been a wonderful, absolute amazing, uh, discussion today. Justin, I really appreciate you joining me.

Justin Abrams: Oh, thank you for having me. Trish, this is great.

Trisha Stetzel: All right. One more time. Justin, how can people connect with you?

Justin Abrams: Uh, yeah. So the website is ro r y o.com. Mario, by the way, stands for Safe Travels in Japanese. So if you have any issues, you need some safe traveling expertise. I’m your guy and we’re on LinkedIn. You can find me on Twitter, Instagram, all the socials.

Trisha Stetzel: Awesome. And I think I found Justin on LinkedIn. I think we’re connected. So if you can’t find him, come, come find me and I’ll connect you with Justin. Thank you again for being with me today. This has been amazing and, uh, can’t wait to have our next conversation together.

Justin Abrams: Excited to do it. Thanks, Trisha.

Trisha Stetzel: That’s all the time we have for today. If you found value in this conversation and I had with Justin, share it with a fellow entrepreneur, veteran or a Houston leader ready to grow. Be sure to follow, rate, and review the show. It helps us reach more bold business minds just like yours and your business. Your leadership and your legacy are built one intentional step at a time. So stay inspired, stay focused, and keep building the business and the life you deserve.