After making a name for himself as a SCORE mentor, Ryan Kauth of Green Bay has set out on his own business ventures

Almost everyone familiar with the entrepreneurial culture in northeastern Wisconsin will know the name Ryan Kauth.

Kauth has spent decades mentoring and teaching aspiring and existing business owners. Roles have included serving as director of the Small Business Development Center at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, senior lecturer at UWGB and senior vice president of lending at GreenLeaf Bank.

As a volunteer, he has dedicated hundreds of hours as a Green Bay SCORE mentor, served on numerous boards, judged dozens of business plan competitions, and among many other activities, was a founding member and lead organizer of 1 Million Cups Green Bay.

That said, Kauth has developed an incredible acumen for business. It is this experience and passion that has led him to step out and pursue his own ventures; both directed to helping business owners succeed. Those businesses are defined in separate websites.

The first, www.RyanKauth.coach, is dedicated to coaching business owners who want to grow their business but are stuck on a no-growth plateau. The second, www.RyanKauth.com, involves working as a fractional chief of staff, an emerging trend where companies contract with an experienced executive who can provide strategic and operational leadership on a part-time basis. Fractional executives are typically hired by corporations that are small to mid-size that do not have the need or cash flow for a full-time position.

“Although there are two websites, it’s one business with multiple offerings,” Kauth explained. “I lead with coaching for business owners in the $500,000 to $10,000,000 in annual revenues who are stuck in their growth. We work on financing growth, scaling operations, business development/marketing/sales, organization development (becoming an employer of choice), and founder executive leadership development.”

In both roles, he has seen some extraordinary success. One company featured on his website grew by more than 20% in a year as he coached the team members and helped with strategizing and executing marketing plans and business development ideas.

That isn’t an unusual outcome. As a fractional chief of staff, he works with the founder, CEO and/or leadership team to develop and implement positive changes that result in growth.

Kauth said, “My approach might be different. As a consultant, I am going in and leaving behind a strategy. As a coach, I am getting someone from point A to point B and taking into consideration their personal and business performance.”

The process begins with a consultation. If there is a match in expectations, a typical contract will be for a year in order to have enough time to meet objectives. It might involve one-on-one coaching, or as a fractional chief of staff, could be as diverse as helping move projects forward or helping develop a specific strategy.

“I want to provide value to business owners who are frustrated to a point of sleeplessness because they know they can grow their business, but for some reason, they’ve just been stuck on a plateau for way too long. It’s why I coach or act as their chief of staff,” he said.

As chief of staff, Kauth focuses on all functions that drive a business.

“It’s up to the founder to go from being a functional executive to becoming a strategic executive to even a visionary executive to grow their business,” he added.

The steps and changes he recommends are reiterated in articles he writes for business publications, posts in online videos, and most recently, talks about in his new podcast. The podcast is produced every two weeks and is targeted to mid-market executives.

Kauth said, “The guests I talk to on the podcast are founders of companies in that market demographic who have had business challenges and happen to be experts in one of the five areas that will inhibit a founder’s business growth.”

The podcast will be available soon on all of the major sources including, YouTube, Spotify and Apple. He hopes that the lessons his guests have learned will inspire other business owners. But even as guests share mistakes they may have made along the way, he doesn’t believe it is about avoiding every mistake.

“I heard a business coach the other day say that they want to help other entrepreneurs to not make the mistakes that they did," Kauth said. "Now, there are actual mistakes that can get you into legal trouble, for example, but overall, I think most mistakes need to be made. Coaches don’t help you avoid mistakes. They don’t help you make decisions. They help you confirm your direction, your strategy, and hopefully, your vision.”

And having worked with hundreds of entrepreneurs, Kauth knows the importance of having an achievable vision.  His inspiration is those who succeed when the odds might seem long.

“Underdogs inspire me,” he said. “Like a working single mom who earns a degree and starts her own business, the entrepreneurial immigrant couple who move to the U.S. with a few dollars in their pocket, the inventor who is on her 100th iteration and finally launches her product.”

The important key is to start. A product may not be perfect at first, but rather than delaying a launch, Kauth suggests that the entrepreneur should go forward. As early adapters buy, they will provide input that will allow for innovations.

“The first product won’t be perfect, but perfect enough that early adapters will buy it,” he said.

Similar advice goes to those who say that starting a business is their dream. However, that comes with the caveat that an entrepreneur should not go forth blindly.

“Why shouldn’t one follow their dreams?” he said. “The question, though, might be this, ‘Is it your dream to own a tavern or to drink free beer?’ The challenge is having the research to go with the dream. Or, if you want to open a coffee shop, you need to know the community and if a coffee shop is needed so you don’t make a mistake. It doesn’t mean you can’t follow your dreams; it does mean you need to do your research.”

Kauth is now following his own dream and looking forward to seeing the impact he can make. When asked why he wanted to start a business at this point in his career, he was quick to respond.

“My answer is simply: because I can.”

Tina Dettman-Bielefeldt is co-owner of DB Commercial Real Estate in Green Bay and past district director for SCORE, Wisconsin.

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Former SCORE mentor Ryan Kauth of Green Bay pursues his own businesses