About Us
SharedXP/XD is a part-time Executive Pastor/Director service for small churches and organizations. For a monthly fee (+ expenses) we will be onsite 1 day a month, have 1 meeting, schedule 2 phone calls, unlimited text & email. We can deliver a staff assessment, financial assessment, ministry/program assessment and then weave them all together to create 1,3, & 5 year road maps for you to follow. We have special "cohort" pricing that is designed for smaller organizations that can't afford to hire us for our normal rate. We will help you get back to leading your organization and not getting bogged down by all the minutiae of running a business day today. Our experienced coaches will bring the best practice systems and processes you need to be efficient, effective, and healthy again.
How We Got Started
We started because of a off hand comment from a leader who discovered that he couldn't push the organization forward and also make sure all of the systems and processes were top notch and running smoothly every day. SharedXP/XD grew out of my desire to help the small organizations have access to the best practices and cutting edge techniques employed by bigger companies who can afford to hire skilled and experienced full time leadership. Now all of those helpful hints and techniques are affordable and accessible to even the smallest organization!
The products and services we offer
Recommendations Received (14)
"Very nice people great services I highly recommend them.!"
"Dr. John has a heart for helping others. I met him in 2018 and could instantly tell he was a man..."
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"Dr. John has a heart for helping others. I met him in 2018 and could instantly tell he was a man with integrity, experience, and a willingness to help. Dr. John and I have worked together on a few projects and I know I can always count on him to deliver. He is highly professional. I highly recommend SharedXP/XD for all businesses and churches. If your church or company is too small for a full-time XP or XD, he can come in and fill that gap. If you already have a full-time person in that role, let Dr. John come in as a second set of eyes to see if anything has been overlooked. His prices are more than fair and reasonable. And, I believe you will not be disappointed. "
Products & Services
-Meeting with the Senior Pastor & Elders to help them discern a 1,3, & 5
year strategic road map
- Determining the alignment of your org chart, b...
We have project managers and construction experts available. But our primary service is helping run the business side of churches and small busines...
We help with finances, HR, Operations,Board recruitment and development, policies and staff handbooks, and Executive Coaching . We’ll assess your s...
Recommendations Given (18)
"Rick is professional, pastoral, and prepared to jump in and help any type of organization achieve..."
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"Rick is professional, pastoral, and prepared to jump in and help any type of organization achieve their goals and help their people be the best version of themselves "
"Paul is professional knowledgeable, and customer service focused"
Recent Activity
The easy answer always appears to be marketing because that seems like the path to more business. I would have to say that the answer is maybe. I am always an advocate of gang tackling challenges from multiple directions. So, marketing to me takes on a lot of different meanings.
As 2018 closes...
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The easy answer always appears to be marketing because that seems like the path to more business. I would have to say that the answer is maybe. I am always an advocate of gang tackling challenges from multiple directions. So, marketing to me takes on a lot of different meanings.
As 2018 closes I am re-reading the book "The Go-Giver" and working on ways to apply it's basic concepts. The thought of approaching fellow vendors and clients from the stand-point of what I can do for them versus what they can do for me is so liberating! The Go-Giver concept is foreign to most business leaders because we can tend to focus on the ROI versus the relationship.
My plan for 2019 is going to be all about one of my favorite ways to end meetings where I like to say "How can I serve you?" Client contracts and income will follow. But I want to move out of focusing on growing my business and into a mode of growing my character, the skills of being a Servant Leader, and leaving my slice of the world better then when I found it.
So. I'm spending more on marketing in general. But the majority will be spent on building one-on-one relationships and some resources directed towards the traditional techniques.
How about lunch sometime soon?
John
Brook,
I do not have a lot of experience with the other packages that you list beside Quickbooks. I think your finances need to be handled by Excel at the start and then evolve to a main line package like Quickbooks at a later time. Maybe this will help.
Here is the criteria that I use to...
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Brook,
I do not have a lot of experience with the other packages that you list beside Quickbooks. I think your finances need to be handled by Excel at the start and then evolve to a main line package like Quickbooks at a later time. Maybe this will help.
Here is the criteria that I use to evaluate packages.
- Can I hire someone off the street to come in and keep my books without excessive training or time to bring them up to speed? Obscure/loww cost programs can be problematic because they may not offer people based training options version help videos or FAQ pages.
- Is the company that produces the package big enough to be around for a while, or will they disappear in a few years if they don't get a bunch of customers soon?
- Does it produce generic save files that I can read with other programs (for historical reasons) if the company or program folds up.
- Does it interface with Excel seamlessly and without paying the company for additional add-ons, development work, or for them to oversee the process?
- How much is their normal support and can I eventually get to a live person?
- Does it offer a POS solution or an interface to popular POS systems?
- Does it produce the normal (P&L, Cash Flow, Balance Sheet) reports with a button push or is it a long drawn out process?
- Can I get a CD/DVD to load the software directly onto my laptop or is it only a online service?
That is a good start. I hope it helps.
john
Hello Kevin,
This is a good topic and you are covering all the most important topics. Maybe you could add the following:
- If you could teach accountants to step back from the calendar to 10,000 feet and help their clients understand the important milestones that occur according to a pretty...
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Hello Kevin,
This is a good topic and you are covering all the most important topics. Maybe you could add the following:
- If you could teach accountants to step back from the calendar to 10,000 feet and help their clients understand the important milestones that occur according to a pretty well set calendar. There is a lot more to explain, but I think you get the idea.
- Another topic could be relational and what I would call "bed side manner". We (small business operators) come to accountants to unwind the bowl of Spaghetti that finance frequently becomes or appears to be. I have a higher level of finance background then most leaders because of my coaching role. But I still feel like my accountant is talking down to me or being abrupt. I think a presentation outlining techniques and role playing exercises that helps improve their presentation/relational skills would be extremely useful. Numbers can be easier then dealing with people because of all of the unknowns and variables. Acknowledging that issue and giving them tools to cope with it is extremely needed and very important.
- The last topic would be the creation of non-financial friendly dashboards to present and define the typical information presented in standard finance reports like cash flows, P&Ls, and balance sheets. These are extremely useful and needed. But non-accountants struggle with what they are saying and what is useful for running a small business. There is probably a standard/boiler plate version of the dashboards that could be tuned to each business and another set that is specific to the needs of that business.
That is my 2 cents. I hope that helps and call me if I can help you further.
John
847-867-1662
I hardly ever deal with my bank directly. I went there and setup the account. But, since that initial visit I do everything through the App. It would have to be a pretty significant event for me to interact with them directly.
As a sole-proprietor, I prioritizing meeting with customers or...
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I hardly ever deal with my bank directly. I went there and setup the account. But, since that initial visit I do everything through the App. It would have to be a pretty significant event for me to interact with them directly.
As a sole-proprietor, I prioritizing meeting with customers or potential customers over everything. Going to the bank directly has to be a really low priority. I do all administrative tasks through Apps whenever possible. As a matter of fact, I choose which vendors to deal with according to whether or not they have an App.
I hope that is helpful,
John
1 Reply
Absolutely! People are swamped with ads and offers from every direction and it is hard to know what to trust or who. According to a book called "The Church of Facebook" a lot of us are suffering from a condition called CPA or Constant Partial Attention. This condition causes us to only pay a...
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Absolutely! People are swamped with ads and offers from every direction and it is hard to know what to trust or who. According to a book called "The Church of Facebook" a lot of us are suffering from a condition called CPA or Constant Partial Attention. This condition causes us to only pay a little attention to any one thing at a time because we have so much to keep track of. That is why word of mouth or a recommendation means more to us because it doesn't get lost in the deluge of data we deal with daily. Getting a personal recommendation from a friend or trusted resource means that we don't have to do the research ourselves and can focus on something else.
In my business coaching role, I help leaders become better net-workers and control the amount of data they process at any given time. Statistics show that 78% of jobs are no longer posted and can only be accessed through net-working. This has got to be true about researching products and services as well. I recommend that leaders create multiple channels for advertising their services and products and one of the major ones has to be word of mouth and net-working.
I hope that helps,
John
Great question. I find them a few different ways:
- The first place is past employee from previous companies. I keep track of solid players and reach out to them regularly to see if they are interested in a new opportunity or happy where they are at. People are very fluid these days and you...
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Great question. I find them a few different ways:
- The first place is past employee from previous companies. I keep track of solid players and reach out to them regularly to see if they are interested in a new opportunity or happy where they are at. People are very fluid these days and you never know when they might need a job or be bored and looking.
- 78% of jobs these days are not posted and can only be found through networking. It is worth a breakfast or lunch away from the office per month to keep your finger on potential openings or people who are looking.
- I like diamonds in the rough that are fresh out school and who are hungry and looking for a professional mentor or coach. I think a few newbies should be a part of every organization to keep payroll low and to create a "farm team" so that you can raise the next generation of leaders up from within. Hiring gun-slingers and experienced help will introduce new DNA or different cultures into your environment and cause confusion and potentially some collateral damage to repair into your daily schedule.
- A productive and agile search process requires input from multiple sources in order to deliver fruit. Finding quality people requires a fresh and creative overall strategy. Contact me at johnmrazek@sharedxp.org if you need help. :-)
jm
It has been my experience that communities think better of an organization that makes a positive impact in their neighborhood. But, there has to be a sustained and consistent effort. Too many leadership teams have a brand new thought or a few extra dollars and decide to make a splash in the...
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It has been my experience that communities think better of an organization that makes a positive impact in their neighborhood. But, there has to be a sustained and consistent effort. Too many leadership teams have a brand new thought or a few extra dollars and decide to make a splash in the community. It lasts a quarter or 2 and then they run out of money or something new catches their eye and they are off to chase the next bright, new shiny donut. This scenario actually does more damage to their reputation then good.
If caring for the community is not a normal part of your DNA, don't try to "clamp" it onto your mission and vision. Picking who to "partner" with is a delicate and potential risky process. My nonprofit background gave me a lot of chances to interact with many local organizations. I have learned that each one has a unique personality, changing needs, and specific ways to connect with them. If you think dating and picking a spouse was tough, picking a organization to partner with is as hard or worst. A bad match could result in wasted time, resources, and a tainted perception that disenfranchises current or potential customers.
This, and a host of other reasons, makes it incredibly important that you have made a long term commitment to helping your community. That will require that you modify your mission, vision, goals, and strategies before you invest $1.00 or 1 minute into trying to enhance your reputation in your community. If you need help making a serious and authentic evaluation of potential partners and updating your DNA, find a local culture and business coach to help you step back to 10,000 feet and view your organization with a new set of eyes and goals.
Some will say yes and others no. My accountant is ultra conservative and thinks you need to have receipts, bills, and you need to keep a log of who you were with & why. I write the names on the receipts and what we were meeting for. If you haven’t been keeping the receipts before. Start now. It...
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Some will say yes and others no. My accountant is ultra conservative and thinks you need to have receipts, bills, and you need to keep a log of who you were with & why. I write the names on the receipts and what we were meeting for. If you haven’t been keeping the receipts before. Start now. It is better to be safe then sorry.
I am my business because I am a 1 man band. So I do both at the same time
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I am my business because I am a 1 man band. So I do both at the same time
Thanks for the question and I am offering 25% off of my normal fee for the first 3 months as a holiday special.
john
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Thanks for the question and I am offering 25% off of my normal fee for the first 3 months as a holiday special.
john
