Consultants > Mary Erlain & Michael Shapiro
Mary Erlain & Michael Shapiro
Business Consulting, Peer Support Groups, Business Planning, Coaching, Targeted Recruiting, Culture Development for small businesses.
E Group Partners, Inc. grew from over a decade of collaboration between Michael Shapiro and Mary Erlain. Each had successful consulting practices independent of one another. Michael founded Peer Groups known as Entrepreneurs Groups several years prior to meeting Mary. The collaboration began when Mary suggested to Michael that he expand the Entrepreneurs Groups to the suburbs. This collaborative effort started with the groups and developed into a number of consulting engagements together. Both Mary and Michael possess their own unique talents while sharing a passion for helping business owners develop strong and sustainable organizations. Together they have created an array of Dynamic Development Strategies™.
E Group Partners, Michael and Mary:
Business Acumen – “been there, done that” – the ability to help you navigate through issues.
Emotional Intelligence – know how to deal with “difficult personalities” and help you navigate important relationships with effectiveness,
empathy, and insight.
Trust – confidence in knowing we will tell you what you need to hear and confidentiality with your high-level business and personal information.
Flexibility – there is no “one size fits all” strategy for business. We can change our course as your situation ebbs and flows in business.
Accountability – we’ll be there to ask why, set goals, measure progress, celebrate successes, and help you navigate through the shortfalls.
Unflappability – keeping our cool in the face of pressures both business and personal and teach you how to do the same.
Insightfulness – doesn’t come from a textbook but from having been there – and knowing how to apply sound principles to your situation.
Political Astuteness – in complex business situations we will help you understand the dynamics and develop strategies for dealing effectively
with them.
Areas of Expertise
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
- Business Coaching
- Leadership Coaching
HR
- Recruiting
- Talent Management
OPERATIONS
- Strategic Development
- Professional Services
Testimonials
Mary and Michael of E Group Partners ROCK MY BUSINESS WORLD! Over the years, using them as consultants and participating in their “E Group”, I have been able to bring sensitive issues and topics to the table and leave with ideas and tools to successfully deal with issues before they become problems. While both are appropriately analytical, Michael and Mary approach an issue from different perspectives. These blended perspectives create holistic and creative advice and solutions- advice and solutions that help me tackle sometimes thorny issues. I strongly endorse Mary, Michael, and E Group Partners. ~ Tom Bennington, Attorney
The E Group and coaching from Michael and Mary were hugely helpful to me. At that time I was in process of starting a group private practice after ten years as a psychotherapist in my own solo private practice. The E Group entrepreneurs gave me wonderful ideas and resources, and helped me look at issues I hadn’t thought to consider. Michael and Mary asked questions that were probing, clarifying, and insightful, and they kept me accountable with their coaching. And here’s the result: the group practice began with five therapists and grew to ten therapists in the first year – and made money! I highly recommend the E Group experience. ~ Rhonda Kelloway, LVSW, SE
E-group lets business owners connect with other business owners. I find that many times I am on an island and I need insight from other small business owners that are facing many of the same day-to-day problems I am. It has been valuable to me to not only get insight on a variety of small business growth issues, but also to be able to help the other owners in the group as they run into issues that I may have experience in solving. The group is goal-oriented and the coaching sessions help establish goals in a structured way that can be monitored and reviewed. When we meet in the group, there is some accountability for achieving the goals. If you are not reaching them, then we can dig deeper into what the problem is. Are the goals too big or not important enough? Maybe, it is even the wrong goal! Mary and Michael work in tandem to get the most out of the members of the group and to push them professionally to achieve greater levels of success. ~ Eric Van Ness, CFP
My Content
Entrepreneurs Group
Running a business has never been more challenging and confusing as the recent past. Currently, finding and retaining talent adds another dimension of stress. We developed our Entrepreneurs Group to address these challenges. We have a track record of...
Entrepreneurs Group
Running a business has never been more challenging and confusing as the recent past. Currently, finding and retaining talent adds another dimension of stress. We developed our Entrepreneurs Group to address these challenges. We have a track record of successful entrepreneurs since 2006.
Our business owners are weathering the storm and found our groups a critical reason for the ability to sustain their businesses during a time where failure rates are rising.
Two-and-a-half-hour sessions on Zoom with an additional one hour of one-to-one coaching provide a confidential and supportive forum for problem-solving, accountability, and feedback.
We have over 50 years of combined experience starting and running successful businesses.
VIP (Very Important Planning) Days
Since 2020, business models had to be reinvented. Many businesses continue to struggle with supply chain issues, staffing, cash flow, tax issues, HR changes, etc. Running a business without a solid plan, puts a business in jeopardy of being able to sustain...
VIP (Very Important Planning) Days
Since 2020, business models had to be reinvented. Many businesses continue to struggle with supply chain issues, staffing, cash flow, tax issues, HR changes, etc. Running a business without a solid plan, puts a business in jeopardy of being able to sustain the business going forward.
How do you create momentum? How do you optimize your current business? What are your blind spots in growing your business?
Business Plan | Start-Up Business Model | Personal Plan | Sales Plan | Brand and Culture Assessment
The Details:
Half-day virtual sessions – typically, one-two total
Modules shared in advance
Action Plan to include timeline, goals, metrics, and action steps
One-hour coaching call after 30 days to assess progress
Additional services available to assist in the implementation of your plan
Targeted Recruiting
Targeted recruiting helps the business leader and other key managers choose employees that are the best-fit from the beginning. Based on interviews and assessments, targeted recruiting can help your organization hire employees with the right values,...
Targeted Recruiting
Targeted recruiting helps the business leader and other key managers choose employees that are the best-fit from the beginning. Based on interviews and assessments, targeted recruiting can help your organization hire employees with the right values, personality, and cultural fit, reducing both employee turnover and new-employee training costs.
We meet our clients where they need the most assistance. Our process is modular and designed to augment our clients’ needs.
Project-Based - We will complete the process above end-to-end. We work behind the scenes and help you get back to work!
À la Carte - Create a custom package to fit your needs. Let us help you fill the gaps that keep you from finding right-fit talent!
Learn to Hire Effectively - We will coach and teach you to hire effectively. You are doing the work; we are shepherding the process.
The value of using E Group Partners:
We want to learn about and understand the culture of the organization. Knowledge and skills are certainly important for the job. The cultural fit is a critical piece. We recommend hiring based on values, attitudes, and fit first, while then assessing technical skills.
Typically, when companies are struggling with employee turnover, hiring for a cultural fit is the missing piece in their hiring process. That can be a reason why people may not have staying power.
Our fees are based on the modules you choose. We will customize a hiring project for your greatest needs and budget.
Our fees are based upon the project not a percentage of the candidate’s salary!
Project History
E Group Partners, Inc.
Tuesday June 7, 2022
Growing beyond the entrepreneurial stage:
An entrepreneur-led technology company hit a plateau in growth. It was thriving in its start-up days but has experienced limited success since it began expanding and hiring new employees. The entrepreneur was frustrated and felt that his employees weren’t trying hard enough. One problem for him was employees who started out in technical jobs, such as programming, received a series of promotions into the ranks of management, but didn’t seem to have the right skills to excel. The owner had thcase studye ability to see the vision of growth and success, while his employees could only see the problems and to-do list of the day.
E Group Partners helped the entrepreneur examine his leadership style—and look at the possibility that the skills that made him such an effective leader of a start-up might not prove to be the right skills to lead a larger company. He needed to learn how to cultivate a different management style.
In addition, we assessed the existing employees through the use of mental aptitude and personality assessments. We wanted to determine if they had the appropriate skills for their current positions. Through these tools, we could also identify which employees had the capacity to be successful managers—and then worked with them to develop their management skills. Consulting can also teach the entrepreneur strategies on hiring right-fit employees to avoid future staffing problems.
Adding a new manager or management team:
An accounting firm grew quickly over the last few years. The owner acquired other small firms as well as growing his base of client relationships. He acquired the talent within these small firms which created culture clashes in the company by blending small groups of people into one larger office. Not much attention was given to the staff in developing and empowering them to collaborate in new teams. The owner is overwhelmed much of the time fighting fires between staff and answering questioncase studys from his clients. His ability to scale has stalled.
Many accounting firms have two divisions – audit and tax. By hiring two senior managers to lead each team allows this owner to scale his business. Questions from staff and clients are fielded through these managers. This allows the owner to develop new business and focus on leadership of the company.
Succession planning for the family-run business:
A family-run business had several generations working in management positions and was struggling with succession planning. The father, Sal Jr., and grandfather, Sal, Sr., didn’t want to lose touch with the business they’d struggled so hard to create and didn’t trust the younger generation to run the business properly. Meanwhile, the business-school educated daughter, Talia, was frustrated that her ideas for change weren’t being implemented and was resentful that her seemingly less-skilled cousin, Michael, was being touted as the next president.
Through management consulting, the family can learn how to separate family issues and dynamics fromcase study business. This will allow them to make decisions based on sound business rationale, rather than following ingrained habits stemming from family issues. Consulting will also help the family members identify their individual goals. This enables family members to make their objectives known, and enables them to create an action plan to meet those goals.