There are moments in life you never forget.

September 11, 2001 is one of those moments for me.

I was nearly 3,500 miles away from New York City, but I had family there. With two young kids at home, I left work. I wanted to be close to my family as we watched the unimaginable happen before our eyes. 

Years later, I visited both the 9/11 Memorial in New York and the Pentagon Memorial. Each time, I find myself in reverence and silence. I remember those who died that day and those who served and sacrificed in the years that followed.

For a time, pain brought us together.

I saw something similar when COVID began.

In March 2020, I was in Washington, D.C., lobbying on behalf of the Oregon Manufacturing Extension Partnership, OMEP, where I served on the board for nearly a decade.

COVID was still new. People were unsure whether to shake hands or bump fists. I met with Senator Jeff Merkley as leaders prepared the first federal stimulus response. He had just left a meeting with then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Pence. There was a shared urgency to protect the country.

Days later, everything shut down.

Two months later, my business was in trouble.

None of my clients were in Oregon. Air travel had stopped. One client stopped its strategy work. Another put things on hold. A third moved into wait-and-see mode.

Business dried up.

We had hosted a webinar with about 30 people. I followed up with roughly 30 emails.

Monday morning came.

Not one response.

I remember staring at that inbox and feeling something I do not often feel: hopelessness.

I got on my knees and prayed.

“God, if there is going to be work, let it be Your will, not mine.”

Then I reached out.

Instead of trying to solve everything alone, I went back to people I trusted, including relationships built through OMEP. Those conversations led to new conversations and eventually into the private equity community.

That work gave me the opportunity to help turn around private equity portfolio companies struggling through COVID. It also helped 40 Strategy™ grow into a sustainable business.

That experience reinforced something I believe deeply:

We were never meant to do business alone.

Entrepreneurs often carry a rugged “I’ve got this” mentality. But sometimes strength is being willing to say, “I don’t have the answer yet.”

That is why we have intentionally built community into 40 Strategy™.

Through our 40 Strategy Growth Workshops™, Cohort, clients, speakers, Measure Success Podcast guests, and more than 300 experts, we can connect business owners with people who have been there before.  

I have watched owners open up about fears, challenges, and difficult decisions. Then someone else says, “I’ve been there.”

Suddenly, they are not alone.

(Lucas Henderson, Carl J Cox, Christina and Dave Noel) 

This past week, I spent time with one of our clients, S2 Imaging, at the Metropolitan Business Association’s 50th Anniversary Golf Tournament in Portland. It reminded me what happens when people invest in relationships and support one another.   

Community does not remove every challenge. It gives us trusted people to face those challenges with.

So here is my Strategy 4 Saturday question:

Who is in your community?

If you want to be part of the community we are building at 40 Strategy, simply reply:

“I’m in.”

You are welcome here.

We will take it from there.

(Adam Gelhausen, Speaker)

Speaking of community, did you know that our event is not a one-time thing? We have packages available that include our monthly cohort calls. Each month we have an expert come to share with you. Come be part of what we're building. Adam is one of those experts. 

Adam Gelhausen is Managing Partner of Palindrome LLP, a Spokane-based private equity firm that acquires, operates, and grows lower middle market businesses.

He sits on the side of the table most owners never see clearly: the buyer's. Adam works alongside founders, management teams, and investors through acquisitions, transitions, and the hard work of transformation — unlocking value through strategic growth and operational discipline, not financial engineering alone. His work spans a range of industries, and the approach holds across all of them: build lasting value by pairing financial discipline with exceptional people, and preserve the legacy of every business he acquires.

That combination — hard numbers and real relationships — is what makes him worth a CEO's attention. Most owners build for years without ever knowing what a serious buyer actually values, and they leave money and options on the table because of it.

At the Growth Workshop, Adam will pull back the curtain on what private equity looks for when buying a business — the metrics, the risks, and the signals that separate a company worth acquiring from one that gets passed over. Whether you plan to sell in two years or twenty, knowing how a buyer thinks changes how you build today.