http://www.vistage.com/vistage-advantage.aspx Peter Ganahl, President and CEO of Ganahl Lumber, is one of the building supply industry's most interviewed, quoted and written-about leaders. With Peter at the helm, the company has remained profitable independent of the economic climate. Still, Peter's ability to lead his team has not been diminished by success. His commitment to continued learning as a means of fostering a service-based company culture is shared by his teammates, who continuously strive for improvement and positive change. Learn more about Vistage: Vistage is the world’s largest CEO executive coaching and peer advisory organization for small and midsize business leaders. We offer the most effective approach to achieve better results, grow your company faster and maximize your impact as a leader. For 65 years, Vistage has helped CEOs, business owners and key executives reach new levels of success and leadership development. CEO Climb Events for Leaders: https://bit.ly/CEOClimbEvent Vistage.com: https://bit.ly/vistagehomepage Facebook: https://bit.ly/VistageFB Twitter: https://bit.ly/VistageTwitter Research & Blog: https://bit.ly/VistageResearchCenter Vistage Resource Center: https://bit.ly/executivecoaching2

Pamela Jung's staffing company faced downsizing and foreclosure but she never quit. Instead she called upon her determination and the advice of her Vistage peers to come back from the edge. After re-branding her company and re-tooling her business, her three-year growth rate was 494 percent. WorkForce Solutions now has locations in Orange County and Los Angeles, and another is set to open in Ventura. In rebranding her business, she set a clearly defined direction for where they were headed, separating herself from the competition. She says, "I''m Pamela Jung and I'm the CEO and founder of Workforce Solutions Group. I joined Vistage in January, 2007. The biggest benefit for me, going into Vistage, was really regaining my confidence. They really helped me redefine the principles that I've always known and operated by, and really encouraged me to look outside the box and do things a little bit differently. I'm now approaching 10 years, you know, being in the group, so a lot of useful advice, you know. We'd work an issue, and after that issue, we'd come up with action plans. And, I would get emails and phone calls from the members of the group. Over the years, we've had a lot of speakers talk about culture. One of the things that Vistage helped me with is to really define that culture, and to explain it not only to our employees, but to our clients out in the marketplace. This sounds really dramatic, but it's very true. I really owe Dwight my life, my professional life. In 2007, things were going really well. We grew the company from zero up to five million at that point, and then in 2008, 2009, the recession hit. So we went from $5 million in 2007 to $900,000 in 2009. I was at a point where all of our credit was cut. Our line of credit from the bank was called. When everything just hit the fan, we moved out of the building and was able to lease it out. And, I was down to 5 employees. My partner had a nervous breakdown and just said, 'I don't want to be an entrepreneur. I'm done, I'm out.' So you know, I was left with half a million in debt and basically no revenue. I just couldn't continue in Vistage any longer. And I approached Dwight and shared everything that was going on, and he really encouraged me to stay in and said, 'I think this is really gonna help you turn that corner.' And I did. I had everything on the line, my home, my family, everything was on the line. I fortunately was in a position where I had a lot of equity in my home, so I tapped into that, especially when the recession hit and I had to make payroll. And I remember, okay well, do I come in and just tell everybody that I can't afford to pay them any longer? Or do I just take money out of my home? And that was the biggest risk, and it was worth it to me because I knew I could pull through. I knew I could turn it around. There are so many decisions that I had to make while I was in the middle of the recession, and how I was going to come out of it. So, if you don't have the capital, Pam, where is that going to come from? If you don't have the money to hire more staff, how are you going to approach it? What's going to make a difference in the market? What is your marketing strategy? And how are you going to reach those people? And I think Vistage, Dwight and my group really helped me to sort of organize my thoughts and prioritize and really kind of guide me. So, little by little, things began to really turn around and we've gone from the very lowest, $900,000 to $30.5 million this last year. So, I feel very fortunate. I tell people all the time I'm here because of Vistage. And I can't emphasize that enough. Just to have a group of people I can run ideas by, that's been invaluable, invaluable for me."

Jay Steinfeld opened a "Mom & Pop" drapery business 25 years ago and transformed it into the world's No. 1 online window coverings store, Blinds.com. From Vistage and his peer group, Jay learned how to hire, coach, and set the right expectations for his employees. He credits Vistage for making him a more effective employer. Today Blinds.com has 131 employees with only a 3 percent turnover. Jay did not know what being a CEO was when he first started out. Thanks to his Vistage peer group he realized that as a CEO, "You're not working in the business; you're working on the business." Learn more about Vistage: Vistage is the world’s largest CEO executive coaching and peer advisory organization for small and midsize business leaders. We offer the most effective approach to achieve better results, grow your company faster and maximize your impact as a leader. For 65 years, Vistage has helped CEOs, business owners and key executives reach new levels of success and leadership development. CEO Climb Events for Leaders: https://bit.ly/CEOClimbEvent Vistage.com: https://bit.ly/vistagehomepage Facebook: https://bit.ly/VistageFB Twitter: https://bit.ly/VistageTwitter Research & Blog: https://bit.ly/VistageResearchCenter Vistage Resource Center: https://bit.ly/executivecoaching2