Today we’d like to introduce you to Patrick Keefe.
Hi Patrick, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
Born into a retail family (my dad owned two furniture stores) in Central WI, I began working – close to full time – in a family business at the age of twelve years old. When I went to college, I was going to go into law and politics but a professor said that I had an affinity for understanding numbers…and he was right.
After graduating in 1983, I began a career with Price Waterhouse (PwC) focusing on large, closely held, businesses. I left public accounting (or it left me) in the mid-1990s and had a series of Chief Financial Officer jobs in Wisconsin at closely held, family businesses (there’s a pattern) until 2011.
As a person of faith and an altruist, I took a job as the CFO and Chief Credit Officer for a Non-Profit Lender but found it to be no more or no less redeeming than a job in the for-profit world. And in 2018, I decided to return to my roots and the theme of my life story…serving family businesses.
I’d like to believe my approach is unique but nothing is new under the sun. My focus is on helping family businesses and adding 50 years of family business experience to 35 years of C Suite strategic and financial work experience gives me a different approach. It’s a No Labels approach and I fail at coming up with an Elevator speech – if you own a family business, I can probably offer you something of value whether you can pay me or not.
I’ve worked in manufacturing, food production, retail, real estate, construction, and trucking and I’ve been involved in transactions from $1,000 to $100 million – nothing is too big or too small for me to try and help.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No…there are no smooth roads in life.
Certainly, the start-up phase was a grind and I will always be thankful to the Wall family for hiring me early on to help them with a variety of projects. Over the years, I’ve helped more than 25 clients navigate a variety of issues – from developing a business plan to mediating family disagreements, I’ve tried to lend help.
COVID was a twist that I did not expect and it limited my ability to network and took away a few years of what might be a limited time left for me to expand but we adapted and changed. The latest curveball is the economy – I spent a year developing expertise and training to do Business Valuations and then no one wants to buy a business.
However, other than COVID, as much as things might seem different, the economy is cyclical, and being more seasoned (i.e. “old”) allows you to apply some wisdom or avoid foolishness based on past actions.
As you know, we’re big fans of Keefe Consulting LLC. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
The one thing you should know is – it’s simply me and my network (most of them are real people…only a few are imaginary). COVID likely took away my option to expand but working for myself does provide independence and flexibility which anyone will tell you is a big part of what makes me tick.
Many times I feel like I am the last of the generalists – I’ve been an executive in Companies close to $1 Billion in revenue and I’ve been an executive in a Company with $40 Million in revenue…and I’ve been active in family businesses with less than $1 Million of revenue. I’ve started, grown, survived, failed, and thrived along the way – I’ve acquired Companies for others and been involved in taking one Company public but nothing brings more joy than helping a family navigate business and life together without killing each other.
What I am most proud about – I am not in it for the money. I am not wealthy by any means but I am going to retire in five years without debt and that’s all I care about right now. I offer a couple of days for free and sometimes have ongoing relationships that don’t result in monetary rewards other than a gift card or some brand “swag” and I am okay with that life. Life’s too short to make decisions based on money.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you, or support you?
Call and ask questions – if I don’t know, I can usually find someone who does know.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.keefecfo.com
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/p/Keefe-Consulting-LLC-100054636795944/#_=_
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickkeefecfo/ or https://www.linkedin.com/company/keefe-consulting-llc
