watch if you have a great offer but can't seem to close it
Most advisory firms, owner-led businesses, and professional services companies have the same problem. The relationships are there. The capability is real. Something breaks at the commercial moment — the pitch, the proposal, the room.I work with a small number of businesses. As a board advisor, as a critical friend, and when the deal matters, in the room helping you close it.
You're not stuck. You're just the only one in the room.
Things like critical strategy, hires, deals – these are the moments that define businesses. You shouldn't be making them alone.
Boards without challenge become echo chambers. Good ideas die quietly and bad ones get momentum.
Indecision is paralysing. Great counsel gets you moving.
I work with a small number of owner-led businesses as a non-executive director and critical friend. The engagement is a real working relationship — not a name on a letterhead.Most of the businesses I work with have a commercial problem underneath the strategic one. That means the work can include the offer, the pitch, and how deals get closed — not just direction-setting from the boardroom.
Board Advisor
High stakes decision making and support -- business strategy, hiring, deals, sales and core offers, finance
Advisory, agency and professional services firms
Consulting, training, coaching, events and membership companies
Owner-led businesses at a hinge moment — growth, transition, or exit
Monthly retainer. I work with a small number of clients at any one time. The value is in the depth of the relationship.
"Joe helped us choose a funding pathway, facilitated succession planning, and guided us through an MBO"
— Dave Rungay, Owner LMR Gear Tech
"Joe provided me direct counsel on a monthly basis on the big levers that move the needle in our business. Over our time together, monthly recurring revenue has doubled and I am freed from the business"
— Letelba Neto, Owner Falcon Media
"When it comes to high-stakes decisions, Joe is the person you want in your corner. His rare ability to navigate complex transactions, manage personalities, and apply deep psychological insight to big-stakes moments makes him the ultimate wingman for any major transition or deal."
— Alex Lockey, Owner AI-Consulting Company
For the conversations you can't have with your team or board.
There are decisions you can't make in the boardroom (or you don't have one) and doubts you're not supposed to voice out loud.
The most expensive mistakes tend to happen when founders are making them alone.
Every business reaches a point where the loneliness of the role outpaces the quality of available advice.
I act as a private counsel to founders and senior owners — a confidential, ongoing relationship focused on the decisions that actually matter.
This is not coaching. It's not a mastermind. It's direct counsel from someone who has sat inside enough businesses to know what's real — covering strategy, hiring, deals, commercial performance, and the personal weight of running something.
Founders, owners and Partners who are good at what they do and want a thinking partner they trust
Leaders at inflection points — a key hire, an exit, a pivot, a stall
People who want honest challenge, not validation
Monthly retainer. Ongoing WhatsApp access. Regular calls. A small number of clients only.
_"He picked apart our offer document and showed us the psychology behind it — in one session." _
— Partner, Family Wealth Office
"Joe helped us understand why our clients buy from us, better position our offer, and close twice as many sales."
— MD, Entrepreneur Community
For focused work on your commercial proposition — fixing the offer, the pitch, and how deals get closed — there is a separate entry point.See joethomsett.substack.comfor the Commercial Clarity session.
Read my thinking about principles and decision making for business and life.