Six weeks ago, we didn’t have a financial system. We didn’t have structure around our wholesale network. We didn’t have job descriptions, a morning meeting cadence, a production board, or a clear picture of where the business was headed. We had a brand we believed in, a team we cared about, and a lot of instinct holding everything together.

What Cogent helped us build was a way to run the business instead of simply reacting to it.

Today, Brad sits down every Monday morning and reconciles our Cash Management System to the penny. Six weeks ago, neither of us would have known what that meant. Now it’s part of our routine. We know where we stand, what the next several weeks look like, and where cash challenges are likely to show up before they become emergencies. We’re spending less time reacting and more time planning.

For the first time in the history of Cactus Alley, our wholesale network has structure behind it. We have a quota model, a commission framework, a territory map, and a document Brad is already using in conversations with our reps. One phrase kept coming up during the engagement: Performance Equals Protection. If a rep performs, their territory is protected. That idea has become part of how we think about growing the business.

Our team now has written job descriptions and a Code of Conduct that everyone reviewed and signed. During week six, we had to navigate a difficult personnel situation. Erin handled the conversation herself, and the framework held. That’s when you realize the value of having systems in place. You build them hoping you never need them. Then one day you do.

Our senior staff meeting looks different now. There’s an agenda. There are priorities. There is ownership and follow-through. Brad leads the meeting, opens with scripture, and makes sure everyone leaves knowing what they are responsible for. On the production floor, Tanner starts the day with the team and closes the huddle with Psalm 118:24: “This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” None of these things are dramatic. They are simply the habits and rhythms that help a business stand on its own.

Some of the most important conversations had nothing to do with sales, inventory, or financials. We talked about our marriage. We talked about leadership. We talked about the kind of owners we want to be. That wasn’t part of a consulting engagement. It came from someone who cared enough to tell us the truth when it mattered. We didn’t expect that when Cogent walked through the door, but we’re thankful for it.

One of the biggest changes has been the freedom created by the systems we put in place. When this engagement started, we were in the building from open to close almost every day. Hope would pick up Blaze from school and bring him back to the shop until the end of the workday. It often felt like the business needed both of us present all the time.

Today, that’s beginning to change. Hope no longer feels the need to be in the building every day, and I have been able to spend consistent time building boots again, something I had struggled to do for quite a while. With a waiting list measured in years, I can focus on the craft that helped build this brand while trusting the business to continue moving forward. More importantly, we can leave the building with confidence. We can attend self-care events, have lunch with friends, spend time with our boys, and be present for the parts of life that matter most. For us, that may be one of the clearest signs that the business is becoming healthier.

As we head toward the August market, we have more clarity, more structure, and more confidence than we’ve had at any point in the six years we’ve been building Cactus Alley Hat Company. We have a KPI scoreboard with real numbers behind it. We have a marketing strategy built on data instead of assumptions. We know that 88 percent of customers who put something in their cart leave before buying, and we have a plan to address it.

The work isn’t finished. It probably never will be. Building a business is an ongoing process. What has changed is that we now have a foundation. We have systems. We have visibility. We have a clearer understanding of what needs attention and what success looks like. We can leave early knowing that the business will run.

If you’re a business owner running on instinct and wondering if there’s a better way to operate, there is. The conversation is worth having.

Sincerely,

The Glenns
Owners
Cactus Alley Hat Company