Last night, I returned to Oregon after an incredible ten day trip, which brought me through Rutgers University, Charleston, South Carolina, the University of Illinois, Michigan, a Notre Dame football game, and Northwestern University. We were able to navigate to 3 collegiate soccer games to see our daughter play. This is why the blog is being released today instead of Saturday.

Focused Efforts in Between 

In between all that, we had scheduled client meetings, podcasts recording, closing sales deals, working through tax extension deadlines for October 15, and continued our last phases of getting ready for The 40 Strategy Growth Workshop™. https://40strategy.com/the-40-strategy-growth-workshop/ Tonya will embed link. Wow, we are only three weeks away!

We are now focused on filling out our final seats, for those in the Phoenix area because we sold out of our reserved hotel capacity.

People from out of town could, of course, still attend the event. We just cannot guarantee their discounted hotel accommodations at the resort.

A New Offer 

We have created a new “local entry ticket”, just for an entry to help cover their meals. They do not have the personalized benefits, Growth-Drive analysis, and year-long follow-on activities that our VIP guests will experience, but they will get to see a great list of speakers to prepare their 2026 growth plan.

If you know of a business owner in the Phoenix area who should attend this event, we have a few spots left. Request link from Tonya.smith@40strategy.com.

(Carl J Cox & George Sandmann)

Growth Drive 

Last week I was in Charleston, South Carolina, at the Growth Drive Summit, hosted by CEO, George Sandman. It was the second time that I’ve attended this event. It’s a great event for people who are consultants and service providers. We learned the ever-changing economic, AI, and competitive landscape for advisors and how we need to adapt to thrive in the future.

As mentioned above, one of the key tools that we provide to our VIP guests and all of our regular clients, is The Growth Drive assessment. It is a game changing tool that helps us to identify areas where we can increase the multiple for a company. 

The connections, and reconnections from the previous conference was a continued reminder of why in-person conferences are so valuable. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to speak there again.

This upcoming week I’ll be speaking in Vancouver Washington at the Thrive conference.

I’ll be presenting at three different times, including the keynote. The presentations are the courage of being an entrepreneur, competitive pricing strategies to close sales deals, and new tax strategies. The keynote will include leading with values and faith, in a competitive environment, while reaching numbers and results that matter. They can co-exist.

Don’t miss our next blog, coming this Saturday to learn more. 

Final Speaker Announcement 

Bob Bedritis is the founder and Managing Director of Oswego Private Wealth Management. He has dedicated his career to helping business owners achieve financial independence and exit their businesses on their own terms. As an entrepreneur and the son of immigrant parents, Bob deeply values the American Dream and is committed to supporting those who have taken the risk to build something of value.

Bob believes that business owners deserve to maximize the value of their life's work. He specializes in working with successful entrepreneurs who feel something might be missing in their planning that could derail their future.

In his session, EXIT PLANNING: TRANSFORMING YOUR BUSINESS SUCCESS INTO PERSONAL SIGNIFICANCE, Bob will provide a clear, actionable roadmap for a successful business exit. Drawing from the 2025 State of Owner Readiness Report, he'll simplify the process by focusing on the three critical issues every owner must address.

You'll learn how to identify and close the wealth, profit, and value gaps in succession planning and the importance of stress-testing your plan well before you're ready to exit. Bob will also explain how exit planning differs for Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Millennials and why an accurate business valuation is essential for all owners.

He'll show you how to organize the process through the three key stages of Discover, Prepare, and Decide, and illustrate the importance of building a strong exit planning team, detailing who should be on your core team.