Ted Meredith

For the past seven years, I have been a self-employed consultant to small businesses of nearly all types, with modest concentrations in the medical services and restaurant/hospitality industries. By way of example, one client engaged me to develop a business plan for a start-up urgent care clinic; since then they have engaged me to undertake three expansion projects, and currently, to develop a business model for an innovative means to deliver health care services directly to employers. This client has grown from zero to nearly $10 million in revenues in five years. I serve as a Director for this multiple-location medical services client, which has grown to include five doctor/partners, as well as Director for a local restaurant chain and an international government contractor providing logistics services.

The scope of my services in order of volume of delivery includes: capital sourcing, business plan writing, feasibility studies, business valuations, financial modeling (e.g., structuring capital and debt to maximize IRR), public and private offering memorandum/circular writing, subscription agreements, buy-sell agreements, strategic planning, appraisal reviews, and accounting services. My clients number in the hundreds, including many “one-off” engagements; industry segments in which I have been engaged on multiple occasions include: urgent care clinics, family health clinics, assisted living centers, retail medical equipment sales, retail pharmacies, veterinary clinics, branded and non-branded formal, casual, fast-casual, and fast food restaurants (including over 200 Quizno’s, for example), real estate developers, homebuilders, landscapers, furniture and equipment rental, auto service and auto-body repair centers, transportation services, convenience stores, gas stations, branded and non-branded motels, precision and non-precision machine shops, print shops, food processors and churches. Franchises with which I have extensive knowledge and experience include: Quizno’s, Subway, Domino’s, Denny’s, IHOP, Holiday Inns, Hampton Inns, Comfort Inns, Ramada Inns, Best Western, The UPS Store, Kwik Kar Lube & Tune, Exxon-Mobil, Chevron, and Fina.

Before embarking on my own, I was a banker for 31 years with extensive experience in commercial lending. My first job in banking was as a credit file clerk, and I worked my way up the ladder with the help of nine hours of accounting and various business courses attended at night. During this period I functioned as chief credit administrator and managed loan operations. In the mid-80’s I inherited various portfolios of distressed loans, and learned to manage client relationships under the most extreme of circumstances; I functioned as the banks’ bankruptcy specialist, legal liaison and regulatory liaison. Since then, I have originated and serviced loans involving everything from residential and commercial construction to asset-based lending and government-guaranteed loans. During my banking career, I have supervised staff functions and have managed sales groups. My practical education has taught me many things I never learned in my business classes, not the least important of which is that a key component to the success of any organization is its corporate culture; whether a large corporation or sole proprietor, the company’s notion of customer service is fostered by its management, yet that notion is nourished among its employees; in short, to be successful, a company must treat all its stakeholders, all those up and down the ladder and, especially, the customer, with dignity and respect.