You probably guessed it right. It’s me! Linda Lopeke

I am not famous. Or a loud voice on the internet. (I am quietly successful and time rich.)

I’m working with vision-driven business owners, coaches, consultants, and services providers with business ideas, products, programs or services to sell that have a lasting impact and create positive change for their clients. As business owners, we form an incredible network through the Americas and abroad, and often cheer each other on through the launch and beyond.

We see owning a business as a vehicle that secures the future for yourself and your family and carries you further on your entreprenerial journey than you have ever imagined possible.

I help you make things your market wants and win on the playing field most important to you.

I’ve done this twice for myself. First by building my management consulting company in 1982. Then again with my coaching practice, SMARTSTART in 2002. Both successful businesses launched during severe economic recessions.

I started with nothing but an idea. And placed an all-in bet on myself.

Today, 3,979 client businesses and over 277,000+ community members have the unequaled advantage of SMARTSTART.

I only work with action takers committed to building a successful business who have viable business ideas. I don’t cut cookies. Or provide generic (or outdated) business advice you can find anywhere on the internet.

My core values are: excellence, empathy, honesty, integrity, generosity, patience, and perseverance.

Who am I to give you business advice?

I’ve spent my entire career, over 50 years, doing deep work in the worlds of business design, market research, and systems engineering. I earned my stellar reputation as a leading authority in multiple professional disciplines through hard work and by learning from the best.

I’m really good at what I do. And have a long track record of success, awards, and the media and client accolades to back that up. I never pretend to know what I don’t know. I tell you the truth. And I explain things thoroughly and from both sides (pro and con) so you can make better-informed decisions for your business.

While I am proud of my many industry recognition awards, testimonials, and media articles documenting the success of my unusual methods, I get a much bigger thrill seeing my clients on magazine covers and bestseller lists, in the media, and on the speaking stage.

I succeed when you succeed.

Why work with me?

Building a successful business isn’t easy. But then, nothing worth doing ever is.

There’s a contagion of faux experts online. Their marketing is bloated with empty promises; their social media is finely crafted illusion; and behind the scenes their lives are often one big hot mess!

Many of them have never built a successful profitable business of their own. They are masters of deception bent on exploiting your vulnerability. They don’t care about you or your business, and often can’t even answer your questions.

When they don’t deliver promised results, they blame-and-shame you.

I hate that they’ve polluted the internet and ruined so many peoples’ lives and have shredded their belief in themselves. That’s another reason I created SMARTSTART. To provide you with a no-bullshit, no delusions option you could trust.

I totally understand why you may be skeptical about investing in SMARTSTART. Many clients were and they often admit that in their testimonials before they tell you how I helped them turn things around.

SMARTSTART is a completely different experience. One that benefits you for as long as you have your business and consistently apply its timeless principles. Your return on the investment compounds over time.

Only you can decide if SMARTSTART is the right place for you.

Once you have a seat in the program, I’m betting you’re smart enough to discern I know what I’m talking about. And your only regret is going to be that you didn’t join our Business Success Accelerator first, or at least, sooner.

About SMARTSTART

SMARTSTART is often copied, but has yet to be duplicated.

In our one-of-a-kind Business Success Accelerator, you build an asset-based business on a solid foundation and use strategic marketing to attract your perfect-fit clients and customers. In the best way for you. You get expert professional guidance (personally, from me) every step of the way!

Our high-performing graduates create business and life success on their own terms. You can do this too!

I know you have questions; and I’ve answered many below. And of course you can reach out any time and learn more about SMARTSTART.

How does SMARTSTART help?

In SMARTSTART, you reimagine business, rethink marketing, and redefine success. You work with your natural gifts, talents, and experience to develop your customer, creative and marketing genius.

Starting a business?

Not sure what to focus on first and what to do next? Or how to best go about it? Say goodbye to guesswork!

In SMARTSTART, you use strategic thinking, data science, and modern marketing craft to build and move your business forward with clarity, confidence, and paying clients.

Have a business that’s not working for you?

Or one that’s crazy-making in ways you don’t know how to untangle? Are you thinking of changing direction or rebranding? Need to stop working too hard for too little?

Get the business results you want, but don’t have and change the results you have, but don’t want in SMARTSTART. Turn an under-performing business around and change things up for the better.

We focus on building your asset-based business on a solid foundation. You create reusable strategic marketing campaigns. You do the hard work once. And it pays off more and more for you year after year.

Looking at next-level options or bringing in investors?

Scaling your business prematurely, without a proper foundation in place, or with the wrong partners and investors, can quickly put you right out of business.  Stay out of bad situations and stressful circumstances of your own making that can easily lead to financial, emotional and spiritual bankruptcy.

In SMARTSTART, you proactively evaluate your opportunities and manage the risks and challenges that come with them. You make fully informed strategic decisions for yourself and your business.

You don’t have to compromise your values or change who you are to succeed in business. No amount of money you might make is enough to pay for that. Nor do you apologize for your success that makes others in your circle uncomfortable. Instead, you own it!

How does SMARTSTART work?

SMARTSTART is an all-in immersive experience. Our Business Success Accelerator is organized in rounds of 10 collaborative work sessions. And you receive expert professional guidance (from me) throughout your work in the program.

What happens in the first 10 work sessions?

In the first round, we put a solid foundation in place on which to build your business. These 10 highly-structured work sessions are spent doing work specific to you and your business goals.

A strong foundation has 12 distinct elements that must work together as a single integrated system. These are the  essential skills all businesses need to succeed. This is especially critical when you are using a team to do the work involved, rather than doing everything yourself.

An absence, weakness, or failure in any one of these key areas keeps you from achieving your goals and realizing your full potential to succeed in business.

When you have many options to consider, we focus on what’s realistic and doable for you. This intentional and strategic decision-making shapes how to best move the business forward for  you.

If you have a business you want to improve, grow or scale, these first work sessions are used to identify and close any gaps or weaknesses in your current foundation.

What if I want more support after building my foundation?

After your first round of SMARTSTART, additional rounds of guided work sessions are available, to use in any way needed, when you want ongoing support building your business.

Many program participants want to keep the momentum going right after completing the first round of SMARTSTART.

For example, you can get help implementing specific initiatives and projects, creating new products, programs, and services, and considering new ideas and opportunities to pursue for your business. You decide how to use each session in additional rounds; I support you through whatever you want to work on.

How long is the SMARTSTART program?

It depends. You decide how long you want to stay in the Business Success Accelerator.

Your first round of 10 work sessions is completed over 90 days. Some clients graduate from SMARTSTART after building their foundation and are done, dusted and well on their way to success with clarity, confidence and clients in just one round.

Many choose to invest in a second and possibly a third round to get ongoing support while implementing the business decisions they made in that first round, but there is never any obligation or pressure to do so. When you continue working in SMARTSTART in consecutive rounds, you can schedule ongoing work sessions weekly or bi-weekly.

Other clients come back later when they want a sounding board as they move to the next level of business or as new ideas and opportunities arise. Support is also available using email and/or an additional work session or two as needed.

This flexibility ensures you only invest in as much support in SMARTSTART as needed and wanted when you most need and want it.

How do I benefit from investing in SMARTSTART?

In SMARTSTART you pursue business success in the ways best for you and for the stage of business you are in. (What worked for someone else is unlikely to be your only option and may not even be a good fit for you.)

You focus on:

• building an asset-based business on a solid foundation,
• making things your market wants to a high standard of excellence, and
• using strategic marketing to make competition irrelevant and
• winning on the playing field most important to you.

Your experience in SMARTSTART is custom-tailored to fit your unique needs, goals, personal circumstances and the way you learn best. In our collaborative work sessions, you get ideas you would likely not ever have come up with on your own.

And, while you make all the decisions for your business, instructive and constructive feedback is provided throughout to keep you from getting lost in the weeds or making expensive mistakes.

All of your questions are answered throughout the program as you work on achieving your goals. Additional support is available if you want it, if you’ve shown a serious commitment to your business, but you never pay for more help than needed. We also offer flexible pacing, scheduling, and payment plans.

Our goal is having you ready to work with clarity, confidence, and paying clients, without my help, as soon as possible.

How much is the investment to be in SMARTSTART?

Your investment in SMARTSTART depends on the stage of business you’re in, the extent of help needed, and the number of rounds you want to have to work on your business in the accelerator.

You decide how much to invest in our program. We have graduates who invested from as low as four figures to as high as multi-six figures (typically our corporate clients).

You never spend more than is necessary. You know what to expect to invest before you commit to starting the program. And we offer flexible payment options and terms as well as select sponsorships to qualified applicants.

Our clients tell you honestly that our Business Success Accelerator is the hardest and most rewarding work they’ve ever done! They’ll confirm it really is the best investment you can make on your entrepreneurial journey.

Here’s the bottom line:

The more you apply what you learn in SMARTSTART after graduating from our program, the greater your return on the investment in yourself and your business is going to be. Your ongoing benefits compound exponentially over time. There are no limits on the ROI you can achieve.

How do I get a seat in SMARTSTART?

SMARTSTART runs four 3-month programs in the Business Success Accelerator each year:

• January through March (Q1)
• April through June (Q2)
• July through September (Q3)
• October through December (Q4)

Placement in SMARTSTART is by application only

We accept applications to work in SMARTSTART throughout the year. However, only those with viable ideas are invited to a virtual interview to discuss their business, goals, and challenges further. I’ll explain how the program is structured and your next steps to get a seat in the Business Success Accelerator if you qualify for and want one.

When SMARTSTART is the best fit for your needs, next you interview two participants in the program to ask them anything you want to know about their experience. That way, you can make a fully informed decision to join us and invest in SMARTSTART.

Only four seats are available in SMARTSTART at any given time. Submit your application as soon as you’re ready to apply. We read them as they come in and you may qualify to be selected for an interview.

Don’t make this mistake:

It’s a mistake to wait to apply to SMARTSTART as it’s best to begin the work when you have a business in the very earliest stages. Many clients in SMARTSTART join the accelerator with just an idea or having a startup that isn’t bringing in revenue yet.

Most clients with an established business don’t generate enough revenue to cover their expenses and pay themselves well yet, even after several years in business. So, we fix that first.

We recommend applying for a seat in SMARTSTART as soon as you have a business, program or service idea you are excited about.

We only admit applicants prepared to do the work needed to build a successful business. There are clients who meet their goals in 3 months and clients who stay in the program longer by choice. As long as you’re doing the work, we’re here and continue to help you.

We love working with our SMARTSTART clients! But, our goal is to have you graduate and not need our support as soon as possible.

Did you miss out? Join our wait list for the next opening.

If you miss out on an upcoming program, you can still apply. We’ll add you to the wait list for the next opening.

Your best time to invest in SMARTSTART was yesterday; the second-best time is now.