A business you could sell is a business worth keeping
Everything in this packet exists to move one number, and every business walks the same spiral into it. Each chapter you clear puts you on a tighter turn with fewer companies still on the line — and the rules of the game change at every turn.
✓Clean books
Not a chapter — accurate, dependable numbers that tell the story completely and truthfully. Every turn above is measured, and none of it holds without that underneath.
Your scoring
How the conclusion forms
Nine components, scored from your calls and your numbers. Click through: each one adds a corner, and the shape they close into is your business.
Operating modelthe machine your revenue runs on
Service delivery follows a structured implementation sequence (brand strategy, sales training, CRM/automation, ads/SEO) executed via internal work plus SLA-backed white-label partners; but Gabriela is described as the 'sole QC checkpoint across all deliverables' with no dedicated PM/Director of Operations role owning handoffs.
Why it scored 3There is a staged service sequence resembling a handoff pipeline, but the archetype's core keystone hire (a PM/Ops role that owns the handoff system) is absent, so the connective tissue is only partially built.
Go-to-markethow demand actually arrives
"
Why it scored 3Founder-led sales matches the archetype, but the channel is concentrated cold/warm outbound rather than the referral- and network-driven, multi-channel mix the archetype describes as dominant.
Revenue patternthe shape of the money
"
Why it scored 3The mix of retainer-style recurring work plus project revenue and an active push toward higher recurring share directionally matches the archetype, but the 60-80% recurring benchmark isn't yet demonstrated and the pricing model is unproven.
Founder profilewho's driving
"Marcel as the bottleneck for brand strategy and sales training delivery" while also designing the staged implementation sequence and the quarterly pricing ramp model.
Why it scored 4Marcel fits the 'senior practitioner who realized their own time was the bottleneck' and systems-thinking operator profile closely, though evidence of him actively delegating to hired specialists (vs. leaning on outsourced vendors) is thinner.
Team shapehow the team flexes
5 people.
Why it scored 2The archetype assumes a growing internal specialist team following a defined hiring sequence, whereas this client deliberately stays thin internally and outsources specialist capacity to vendors, a materially different shape.
Sales cyclehow long a yes takes
Not assessable from the calls, so this component adds no pull.
Moatwhat protects you
"
Why it scored 4This is close to a textbook Relay Team moat description: soft, methodology- and reputation-based defensibility without hard IP, closely matching the archetype's 'methodology + reputation + senior-talent depth, real but soft' framing.
Concentrationhow many eggs, how many baskets
Not assessable from the calls, so this component adds no pull.
Risk appetiteyour tolerance for the ride
Deprioritized weaker-fit segments (property management, home services, interior design, medical) in favor of the law firm niche, while keeping internal headcount deliberately lean and iteratively testing a new pricing model.
Why it scored 3Conservative client selection matches the archetype's discipline of turning down ill-fit clients, but conservative hiring (vendor-leverage over headcount growth) is more cautious than the archetype's 'moderate, forward-investing' hiring stance.
Your archetype is Relay Team
An archetype is a repeatable business pattern. We call that pattern the engine: how a company wins customers, does the work, and turns effort into cash. Follow the link below to read the full pattern.
Operating Income (EBITDA)15-19%A range on purpose: judge the cycle, not the single month.
0%15%30%
Inside the 44%: the labor breakdown
The framework splits the 44% four ways. G&A headcount sits in the overhead line, not here.
22%
7%
7%
8%
Fulfillment22%
The delivery team.
Sales7%
The selling seats.
Marketing7%
Demand creation staff.
Ops8%
The core that keeps it running.
Verified financials · trailing 12 months
12-Month Financial Performance
Revenue ran $479K at a 72.2% gross margin.
TTM Revenue$479KJul 24 through Jun 25.
TTM Operating Income$194K
Operating Margin40.5%
Monthly revenue
Trailing 12 months vs the target financials$478,900
Acquisition—vs 11%Not split out in these books yet.
Total Labor19.8%vs 44%24% under target
Overheads & G&A12.0%vs 25%13.0% under · running ~$5K/mo lean
Gross Margin72.2%contextCOGS sits outside the framework lines; shown for reference.
Operating Income40.5%vs 15-19%Inside the range.
Apr 25$40,390
Labor18%vs 44%
Overheads10%vs 25%
Op. income51%vs 15-19%
May 25$39,318
Labor20%vs 44%
Overheads7%vs 25%
Op. income51%vs 15-19%
Jun 25$38,143
Labor20%vs 44%
Overheads9%vs 25%
Op. income49%vs 15-19%
Company forecast
The Path Forward
The next twelve months against the targets — and what hitting them is worth.
Forecasted Revenue$479KNext 12 months at the current average month.
Forecasted Net Operating Income$194KVersus $194K in the trailing 12 months.
Forecasted Profit40.5%Month 12, against the 15-19% range.
Hover any point on the labor line: the target share that month, and the department envelope it buys.
Ratios vs targets, over the modeled year
LaborTarget 44%
19.8%→19.8%
The reseat. Feeds the margin directly.held
OverheadsCeiling 25%
12.0%→12.0%
A ceiling, not a destination.held
Op. IncomeTarget 15-19%
40.5%→40.5%
Follows the labor fix, month by month.▲ 0.0pp
Gross MarginContext
72.2%→72.2%
Held. The engine itself is fine.steady
The exercises: one year, three cost policies
Same gross profit, three ways to let costs follow it. These are the assumptions this model runs on.
The stair steps vs the targets
The planned budgets hold flat while the Perfect P&L envelopes rise with gross profit. Where they cross is where the plan earns its ratios.
The war chest
Cash on hand against the 3x-monthly-expenses target.
The conclusion
The story in four headlines
01 · The ScoringThe evidence walked to Relay Team.
Relay TeamThe coordinated crew that wins by clean handoffs and relationships.
A Relay Team wins on team coordination, relationship depth and repeatable handoffs. Because each person specializes in one stage and works at the top of their license, the team gets higher quality and throughput than any generalist could match.
What healthy looks like Relationships drive strong retention, because trust and consistent touchpoints make clients sticky enough to renew without being sold twice.
What breaks it Coordination overhead is real, because handoffs often drop balls, especially in the first 30 days when knowledge transfer is densest.
02 · The Perfect P<he baseline keeps 15-19% of revenue.
11% ad spend · 44% total labor · 25% overheads.Labor splits four ways: 22 fulfill, 7 sales, 7 marketing, 8 ops.The framework's note: tighter than typical service firms if handoffs are clean.
03 · The PerformanceThe trailing year, against the baseline.
$479K of revenue at a 72.2% gross margin.Overheads run lean: 12.0% against the 25% ceiling.Operating income landed at 40.5%: $194K for the year.
04 · The Path ForwardHit the targets and $194K becomes $194K.
Revenue models to $479K over the next year.Labor glides 19.8% to 19.8%, at target by month 12.Exit margin 40.5%.A modeled path, built to be argued with.
What you make today, and what grows it long-term. Both, on purpose.
