Welcome to The Sliver – the monthly briefing for business owners. My name is Sarah Slattery, and I’ve been working with and for business owners throughout my professional career.
After graduating from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, I joined a family business (Schedule C) in Los Angeles that catered to small business owners: payroll, accounting, taxes, as well as managed their investment portfolio, 401(k), etc. After 8 years, I went north to the SF Bay Area to another advisory firm (Partnership LLC) focused on highly paid executives. It was exciting to work on plans that stress tested the impact of an upcoming IPO (Facebook) and later a major acquisition (WhatsApp). I saw firsthand how sudden windfalls can be life-changing and the people you surround yourself with are key.
Unfortunately, the partners split after an unexpected personal loss exposed cracks in a partnership that had only ever been about sharing administration costs, not shared vision and values.
Next I traveled to the Southeast where life was much more affordable, and opted for a BIG Bank experience (publicly traded C corp). Here I enjoyed lots of resources, generous benefits (a pension!), and clients of all types that were located across the country. I also got the classic Corporate America experience of constant change: acquisitions, mergers, layoffs, reorgs, etc. When I left after 10 years, I had over 9 different managers! (I swear - it wasn’t me!)
During college and in between these roles, I’ve also had opportunities to work in other industries (food service, distribution warehouse), public service (water utility, school district, library), an automotive sector startup, as an au pair in Switzerland as well as volunteering with a major non-profit (Red Cross).
I’ve never been a business owner myself, but I’ve spent my whole career alongside key decision makers and helping them fulfil their goals. Each month The Sliver will educate, suggest strategies, and flag the important deadlines – so you can stay focused on growing your business.
One more thing about me – I love details! I live in the weeds, but you don’t have to join me. I’ll keep it high level and you can dig in where you see fit.
