Testimonials

Paul was a terrific help when I decided to sell my event production business after owning it for 22 years. He was patient, compassionate, and always worked to find answers when needed. He guided me carefully and with attention to detail. Selling my business was a daunting, overwhelming process but he certainly made it much easier with his wise counsel.”

Marika Holmgren
Founder of Do Good Events

I’ve been working with Paul since 2015. He has guided me from my dream of owning my own coffee shop, to opening the cafe, and understanding how to grow the business. His advice and guidance are grounded in real and practical ways, and whenever I’ve hit a snag, he has been there with practical solutions. He’s a great resource for me as a small business owner.”

Janette Bachman
Owner of Pupfish Cafe

Paul’s expertise and leadership at the Renaissance Business Planning class was the catalyst for Black Jet’s growth and development. Meeting with him one on one for consulting at Paul Terry & Associates as Black Jet matured was just as eye opening. He is patient, knowledgeable and helps guide you to the answers you need to succeed. His experience with other small businesses is incredible and you always leave each session feeling energized towards the plan you have come up with. Paul has been a valuable part of Black Jet Baking Co.’s existence in San Francisco. ”

Gillian Shaw
Owner of Black Jet Baking Company

Paul Terry has been an invaluable part of the success of my small business. Having met Paul when I was transitioning from being an employee for over twenty-five years to starting my own business, Paul helped me focus not only on the details yet also the big picture of starting a small business. Fast forward 15 years, the successful business I’ve been running since Paul helped me get it off the ground required a coach to help me with an exit strategy.

 

Choosing Paul as my exit strategy coach was an easy one and certainly a smart decision. As a result of Paul’s patience, ability to not only listen, but truly hear, understand and honor my priorities and pace, considerations and even fear as I look at what is needed to create an exit strategy, I am able to once again focus not only on the details of what is needed, yet also the big picture. Paul is the perfect coach for me. He asks prompting questions and provides feedback, questionnaire handouts and written guidelines related to exiting a business so I am not left sorting through the sea of available materials on the web. Paul is also incredibly receptive and available in between coaching sessions, which is a plus for the times I have questions or am stuck on a particular part of the process. I am moving forward once again in the direction of my dreams and goals.”

Linda Constant
Owner of Nature Nurture

Over a period of a few years, Paul helped us navigate both a complicated business sale and a business closure. He guided us through some difficult decision-making and assisted us in working through areas of “stuckness” and uncertainty toward the necessary breakthroughs. We thank Paul for helping us reach the best possible end results.”

Betsy & Jack Rix

Paul helped me fine tune the tracking and forecasting of my business and provided key information in hiring and managing employees. He is a great resource and I highly recommend his business consulting services!”

Christine Friel
Acupuncturist and Owner of Double Happiness Health

Working with Paul Terry was exactly what I needed to bring clarity to my business. From our meetings, Paul was able to assess the areas in which I was running in circles and assign me specific tasks that provided focus so that I could systematically accomplish the goals that would bring my business the most leverage. Thank you, Paul!”

Leslie Tagorda
Owner of New Moon Creative

Our work with Paul Terry has been of great value. He was able to assess key decision-making areas for developing our social business – run by a large non-profit in the city. Regular meetings with Paul and his insight into financials and action planning has been very helpful in growing our business. He has been a mentor for all the issues that arise as a social business enterprise. We will continue to work with Paul for his specific consultation and perspective in business management, personnel planning and business development.”

Michael Berke
Manager of Cleanerific Cleaning Services of Jewish Family & Children’s Services

In different phases of every business, it is a wise business decision to step back, reevaluate and see a new perspective on where your business and business partnership is and where you want it to go. Meeting with Paul Terry & Associates over the years has guided our business and our partnership in a new direction. We continue to have on-going consultations with Paul for his resource of business experience and perspective.”

Fred Wallace
President of One Big Man & One Big Truck Moving Company, Inc.

Paul has been instrumental to the growth of my business. His knowledge and ability to grasp issues confronting small businesses is invaluable. He is an asset to the small business community in the San Francisco Bay Area.”

David Dawson
Owner of Dawson Custom Workroom

Twenty years ago, I registered through Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center to build up my business plan. Paul Terry gave it wings and life. Paul has been an incredible mentor and source of support throughout the various stages of my business growth. He understands more than what is said, his wisdom and advice are priceless. Paul’s dedication and commitment to entrepreneurship is unparalleled.”

Josiane Feigon
Owner of TeleSmart Communications

Paul and his Associates were able to complete a very detailed assessment of the San Jose Entrepreneur Center (eCenter) including an understanding of the offerings, the contributions of all the partners and recommendations for next steps. He and his team were able to interview all the key players and synthesize many of the issues for the eCenter. The results were reported to the San Jose City Council with a very favorable result. The Redevelopment Agency would have no hesitation in working with Paul and his organization again for his specific consultation and/or his perspective in entrepreneurship training, consulting and/or business development.”

Richard Keit
Director of Neighborhood & Business Development for the City of San Jose

Paul has been a great help to me over the past decade as I’ve launched my business. After 25 years in government and as an employee of non-profits, I was ready to start my own enterprise. Like most entrepreneurs, I’m happiest providing services to my clients. But the growing and running of a business needs attention, too. His advice has made a real difference and I’ve happily sent others his way when asked for referrals.”

David Prowler
President of Prowler, Inc.

When I first worked with Paul I did not know why I was hitting these brick walls in my business. He understands family businesses and has insights that I would not have noticed. Paul taught me an incredible amount that I use in my business regularly. He is easy to work with, has a great sense of humor, and does not pass judgement about the areas where I feel stuck. He is also very connected to the businesses community, which I really like.”

Marty Sanchez
Co-owner of Casa Sanchez

We first met Paul Terry close to twenty years ago when we co-founded Citizen Film, a documentary media non profit organization based in San Francisco. Paul prepared us by identifying common pitfalls young non profits face, setting us up to thrive as an organization, and as individuals too. Over the years, Paul has continued to counsel us periodically as we have developed Citizen Film into a thriving documentary media not for profit whose work helps foster active engagement in civic and cultural life. Paul Terry has been an invaluable collaborator, and Citizen Film wouldn’t exist as it does today without his wise counsel & support.”

Kate Stilley Steiner, Sophie Constantinou and Sam Ball
Co-Founders of Citizen Film

Paul has offered our ownership team an important and neutral space to reflect on and improve our division of labor, communication and organizational management. He is responsive, thoughtful, and direct about what steps need to be taken to achieve our business goals. Paul has been an experienced sounding board and guide toward clearer strategic planning and visioning for business expansion, and he is excellent at distilling down to concrete steps toward that overall goal. He is a highly recommended and wonderful resource!”

Shamita Dhar
Co-Owner of Coyote Coast Youth & Family Counseling

Having Paul Terry in our corner has been an enormous asset as we’ve grown and encountered unforeseen challenges. His relaxed style puts you at ease as you tackle seemingly insurmountable tasks, walking away with confidence and greater understanding. His decades of experience with his and many other companies is a gold mine of information that he selflessly shares with enthusiasm. Working with Paul has been the key to unlocking the doors of sustainable success.”

Kyle Minor
Owner of Kyle Minor Design

We started working with Paul Terry & Associates because we had too many opportunities and ideas. Paul has helped us to learn to make values based choices that allow us to express who we are and how we want to work and grow our business. Paul has helped with business planning, financial analysis and action steps to help better position our center into new markets. We plan to continue working with Paul for his specific insights into our partnerships issues and assessing our expansion plans in the next few years.”

Deborah Bowes and Cliff Smyth
Co-Owners of Feldenkrais Center for Movement & Awareness

Our consulting sessions with Paul Terry have been of great value over the last 25 years of our business. Paul is adept at focusing our attention on the immediate problem and helping us to see beyond the distractions. He and his staff have been very helpful in strategic planning, assessing our strengths and opportunities with in-depth analysis, providing excellent customer service training and helping us plan our growth in other specific management areas. Paul has been a great asset to our management team as well as in the continued assessments and growth of our grocery business.”

Lester Zeidman
President of The Good Life Grocery

What I appreciate most about working with Paul is his inherent knowledge of business issues faced by small businesses and their owners. Paul has been instrumental in helping our company with resource management strategies, as well as supporting our commercial development opportunities. Paul understands not only the unique needs of small business seeking to grow, but he also understands the need to work with us at a pace we can maintain. This sometimes requires both persistence and patience and Paul has a healthy balance of both!”

Ingrid Merriwether
President of Merriwether and Williams Insurance Services

My company provides video production services for many tech companies. We have to be creative, responsive and competitive in this industry. To do so, we must have a strong team, pay close attention to our numbers, and have a clear plan for what we are doing next and down the road. Paul provides essential guidance related to personnel management, financial monitoring and action planning. His clear thinking and his experience working with many entrepreneurs has helped me to see the road clearly while running my fast-paced business. Paul has been my anchor through the years and I am so lucky to have the best business consultant in the world!”

Carol Gancia
Owner of Ripplemakers, Inc.

We decided to hire a consultant after more than 20 years in business because we were experiencing rapid growth and wanted to get guidance on issues such as personnel, business planning, and lease negotiations. Paul was referred to us by another successful local business and working with him has been great. He gets quickly to the matter at hand and provides valuable insights that allow us to move forward with clarity and confidence. He really understands small business issues! Most importantly, while he helps us reflect and act on the day-to-day concerns of running a business, he keeps us focused on our strategic planning and goals. Since we have been working with Paul we have seen even more growth and success and believe that at least in part this has been due to our work with Paul and the outcomes of our meetings.”

Dr. Carl Hangee-Bauer
Owner of San Francisco Natural Medicine

Paul Terry is the real deal. He is interesting and interested. He approaches strategic business thinking from a humanist angle. But just when you go down a path that may seem touchy-feely, he’ll swing things around and confront you with a harder edged, fiscal hammer.”

Gregory Gavin
Owner of Riveropolis

Paul is an excellent advisor because he meets each business owner where he or she is and takes the time to intimately acquaint himself with not only the business itself, but also the individuals behind it. His thoughtful and sensible advice was crucial to my ability to create the proper structures within my business as my business grew. I would recommend Paul to any small business owner!”

Rachel Saunders
Former Owner of Blue Chair Fruit Company

Paul was very open about sharing his years of business experience with us. He was a great sounding board, attentive to our personal goals and helping us to reach them. He was also a great reality check — calling it as he saw it and questioning our assumptions. Paul’s ability to “crunch” numbers in a realistic way helped light the way for us to proceed. We highly recommend that you get Paul on your team!”

Tom Ysturiz-Dougherty and Alex Mayo
Co-owners of Silver Cloud Restaurant & Karaoke Bar

Paul created the curriculum and program design which made Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center one of the premier micro-enterprise entrepreneurial training programs in the country. For this contribution he was named ‘Entrepreneurship Educator of the Year’ by INC Magazine and the Kauffman Foundation. Paul Terry has been an important reason that Renaissance Center has achieved such excellence and its graduates have achieved such success. Paul continues to help Renaissance and many other CAMEO members with program redesign and analysis.”

Claudia Viek
Past Executive Director of CAMEO

Paul has a knack for presenting information in ways that are engaging, informative, and smart. I’ve experienced him both as a teacher, a co-teacher, and a consultant, and in all formats, Paul strikes a balance between humor, strength, and knowledge about the subject matter. I’ve learned immense amounts about running a business from him, and continue to do so in my interactions with him.”

Gail Lillian
Owner, Intent 2 Impact Consulting

Paul is a tireless and passionate advocate and enabler of small business ownership and growth. He has a special talent for helping entrepreneurs face their realities and figure out ways to overcome obstacles of all kinds without becoming overwhelmed. If you need help getting a business going, turning a hobby into a business, or getting an existing business back on track, Paul is your guy. He is patient, kind and empathetic… and will also get to the root of the issue.”

Heidi Gibson
Co-Owner of The American Grilled Cheese Kitchen

Our work with Paul Terry & Associates was not only enjoyable but so helpful. The CP Center utilized Paul to assess a business opportunity for our micro enterprise program. His resulting, very thorough, business feasibility study was instrumental in helping us convince a foundation to fund this expansion program. Paul provided coaching for the new entrepreneurs and guided us through the business start up process.”

Nancy Rosenberg
Executive Director of The Celebral Palsy Center

Paul’s class gave me the ability to get The Good Hop open and to succeed. Paul is honestly the reason TGH came into existence. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!”

Melissa Myers
Owner of The Good Hop

Paul Terry is an extraordinary teacher, curriculum designer and business consultant. Paul’s consulting services have helped Renaissance grow strategically and effectively. Paul brings enormous creativity, intelligence and experience. His impact has been remarkable – and working with him, a delight.”

Sharon Miller
CEO of Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center

Paul is not only extremely knowledgeable about what it takes to build businesses from the ground up, but also has hands on experience with hundreds of small business owners and organizations across a variety of sectors. His approachable nature and unwavering patience is a huge help to any business owner ready to take the next step, grapple with a challenge or take a venture to the next level.”

Luisa Alberto
Owner, High Five SF

Taking the Renaissance Business Planning class was a pivotal moment for me – the moment I really committed to my business and went all in. I thank Paul for that. Paul Terry is an excellent teacher. He has a wonderful approach in the classroom, and a way of helping start-up entrepreneurs get over both the financial and emotional hurdles related of small business ownership.”

Isobel Schofield
Owner of Bryr Clogs

Our work with Paul Terry and his associates has been of great value. He was able to assess five non-profit/government business centers and complete an in-depth feasibility study for our assessment program. Paul was able to use his years of knowledge and information to assess training programs, business incubators and small businesses. His review and recommendations were very helpful to these state-wide programs we were reviewing.”

Selma Taylor
CEO of California Resources and Training (CARAT)

I can’t thank Paul and Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center enough for such a great Business Planning program. Paul is a great teacher and both patient and kind. I couldn’t have completed my business plan without him!”

Julie Mikos-Houlihan
Owner of The Healing Farm