Meet Stewart Ervin, President

Across my clients, the average results speak for themselves:

36.7% increase in Revenue. 27.9% increase in Net Income. 8.5% reduction in Cost of Goods Sold.

Those numbers aren't theory. They're what happens when someone who understands both the financial side and the operational side of a manufacturing business is finally in the room at the same time.

That combination - deep expertise in finance and operations - is rare. I've been told more than once it's "unicorn" experience. Most financial leaders understand the numbers but have never managed a production line, a supplier relationship, or a fulfillment crisis. Most operations leaders can run a plant but can't read a cash flow statement the way it needs to be read. Throughout my career, I've done both - managing finance and operations simultaneously, often inside the same role. That dual perspective is the foundation of everything I bring to a client engagement.

It's also what the Built to Run system is built on.

Built to Run is my proprietary framework for diagnosing and transforming manufacturing businesses. It connects operational performance directly to financial outcomes - because in manufacturing, those two things are never separate. A supplier who's two weeks late, a production line running at 70% efficiency, a job quoted at the wrong margin - every one of those is a financial problem before it ever shows up on a report. Built to Run gives business owners the clarity to see it coming, and the tools to do something about it.

My career has been built around whole business turnaround, financial leadership, and operational strategy - across industries including aerospace and defense, where the margin for error is zero and the financial and operational complexity is as high as it gets. I've led finance and operations functions simultaneously at senior levels, working inside businesses that were broken, stalled, or ready to scale, and helping them get to the other side. Early in my career I worked in supplier turnaround and supply chain program management - which is where I first learned how deeply operational decisions and financial outcomes are connected. But the bulk of my experience is bigger than that: rebuilding entire businesses, developing growth strategies, and sitting at the leadership table where the hardest calls get made.

I've sat with owners who thought they were going to lose everything and helped them not only survive but build something worth selling. Some came to me in crisis. Others came stuck - doing everything right by feel but unable to explain their numbers or trust their next move. A few came ready to exit, needing clean financials and a clear story to get the deal done.

In every case, the answer wasn't just better accounting. It was understanding what the numbers were saying about the operation - and fixing both.

I work exclusively with manufacturing companies between $3M and $30M in revenue. Not because I can't help other industries, but because manufacturing is where my instincts are sharpest and where the finance-plus-operations combination matters most.

When you work with me, you get me - not a junior associate, not a rotating team. I embed with your business, learn it from the inside, and give you the kind of financial and operational leadership most companies at your size never get access to.

I'm based in Raleigh, NC and work with manufacturers across the country.

If you're in crisis, at a crossroads, or just tired of running your business without a clear picture - let's have a straight conversation about it.