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Turnaround · Operations · Capital projects · AI systems

Order, restored.

Ruskow Consulting is a principal-led turnaround and operations firm. We stabilize the cash, rebuild the structure and hold the business to a documented standard until the results hold on their own.

Apply for an engagementOur practices
  • ~47.78%gross revenue growth in eight months at a company co-founded and led by our principal
  • ~$1.8Mfacility buildout delivered by our principal as owner's representative
  • 14companies advised since 2019

A company co-founded and led by our principal, featured in

  • Disney+ / National Geographic
  • Forbes
  • People
  • ABC News
  • Los Angeles Times
  • Livestrong

Standards and stages

  • NSFStandards development
  • TEDxSpeaker, 2019
  • International Float ConferenceSpeaker, 2019

The record

From the edge of closure to the standard of the category.

In November 2017, a company co-founded and led by our principal was within days of possible closure: behind on critical bills, without a working budget or a known break-even, and spending on marketing that lost money. Rebuilt on seven pillars, it returned to growth and remained the world's largest flotation therapy center throughout our principal's tenure, through May 2023. The method that rebuilt it is the one we bring to every engagement.

A company co-founded and led by our principal

  • ~47.78%growth in gross revenue over eight months, from ~$805K to ~$1.2M
  • ~2,500floats a month across 11 suites, stabilized and scaled after the turnaround
  • 100,000+sessions delivered throughout our principal's tenure, through May 2023

A Ruskow Consulting engagement

  • ~$13K/moprofit for a client that came to us losing money every month, after expense reduction, marketing ROI and restructuring

Practices

Four practices. One standard.

Every engagement is principal-led and draws on our network of specialists: strategists, engineers, water-sanitation specialists, controls programmers and counsel.

Built for

  • Hospitality and wellness
  • Construction and the trades
  • Clinics and practices
  • Specialty retail
  • Owner-operated e-commerce
  • Light manufacturing
  • Professional services

01Flagship practice

Turnaround & Operations

For owners who are out of runway or out of patience. Inside two weeks you will know your cash position, your break-even and your next 90 days. Then we rebuild the business on seven pillars until it performs without heroics.

  • Two-week Diagnostic
  • Cash stabilization and break-even
  • Seven-pillar restructuring
  • Fractional COO and CFO

~$13K/moprofit for a client that had been losing money every month

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02Owner's representation

Capital Projects & Facilities

For founders putting serious capital into a building. We sit on the owner's side of the table from site selection to opening day, so design, trades, permits and budget answer to one plan.

  • Owner's representation
  • Design coordination across every discipline
  • Permits, variances and inspections
  • Commissioning and maintenance programs

~$2Macross two facility buildouts delivered by our principal

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03Systems that run at night

AI & Automation

For operators buried in manual work. We build the agents, pipelines and dashboards that answer leads, chase follow-ups and report the numbers every morning, and we monitor them after launch.

  • AI agents for intake and follow-up
  • Workflow automation
  • Market and lead intelligence pipelines
  • KPI dashboards and self-hosted systems

Nightlyan unattended AI pipeline that gathers, scores and drafts, with spend caps and alerting

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04The category playbook

Wellness & Float Centers

For operators opening, buying or rescuing a float or wellness center. Feasibility, capital, suite design, water sanitation and opening operations, from the principal who led the world's largest flotation therapy center throughout his tenure, through May 2023.

  • Feasibility, pro formas and capital raising
  • Suite design, acoustics and salt-proofing
  • Water sanitation, UV and health variances
  • Opening operations, membership and pricing

100,000+sessions at the world's largest flotation therapy center throughout our principal's tenure, through May 2023

Explore the practice

The Ruskow Standard

Seven pillars, each one load-bearing.

The Ruskow Standard is the documented operating system behind every engagement. It was built in the 2017 turnaround of a company co-founded and led by our principal, and it has been refined in every engagement since.

  1. Mindset & accountability

    Leadership owns the result. Decisions are made on numbers, and commitments are kept in writing.

  2. Branding

    Premium positioning, premium presentation and pricing that agree with each other.

  3. Marketing

    Every dollar is measured against a KPI. Campaigns that lose money are corrected or cut.

  4. Communication

    Professional protocols for every conversation, with a clear path for escalation.

  5. Culture

    Trained people, clear expectations and a workplace without gossip or churn.

  6. Structure

    A chain of command where every role has an owner, and the owner is free to delegate.

  7. Finance

    Monthly budgets, tracked cash flow and a known break-even. Operating costs first, then debt, then distributions, behind a three-month reserve.

We audit every pillar each quarter, in writing. A standard nobody inspects is only a suggestion.

Read The Ruskow Standard

Selected record

The record, case by case.

One Ruskow Consulting engagement, and three from our principal's work before the firm was founded in May 2019. Every figure is drawn from the record and keeps its approximation.

  1. 01Ruskow Consulting engagement

    From a monthly loss to monthly profit.

    Situation
    A client business losing money every month, with closure ahead. The name stays private.
    The work
    We reduced expenses, rebuilt marketing around measured return and restructured the organization on the seven pillars.

    Result

    • ~$13K/mo in profit, from a business that had been losing money every month. Closure avoided.
  2. The Just Float lobby in Pasadena: curved banquettes beneath a sculpted, lit ceiling.

    02From a company co-founded and led by our principal

    The 2017 turnaround at Just Float.

    Situation
    ~$80,000 worse off than expected, behind on critical bills and days from possible closure, with a ~$25,000 immediate cash need. Marketing consumed ~20 to 25% of gross revenue, unmeasured.
    The work
    Our principal resumed day-to-day leadership and, with a strategist, rebuilt the company on seven pillars: monthly budgets and break-even, KPI-measured marketing, premium pricing, a clear chain of command and quarterly audits.

    Result

    • ~47.78% gross revenue growth in eight months
    • ~$1.2M gross revenue, up from ~$805K
    • ~2,500 floats a month across 11 tanks
  3. Our principal in a hard hat on a rooftop job site, reviewing a set of plans beside the mechanical units.

    03From a company co-founded and led by our principal

    A ~$1.8M facility, built from the owner's side.

    Situation
    A leased Pasadena space that had to become a purpose-built float center, through a city design review and health inspectors who first applied spa rules to float tanks.
    The work
    As owner's representative, our principal held the budget, the contractors, change orders and payments, and coordinated architecture, structural, MEP, fire and life safety, acoustics, automation and water sanitation, and helped obtain the health-department variance.

    Result

    • ~$1.8M facility buildout
    • ~18 months of construction, managed from the owner's side

  4. 04Led by our principal

    An empty warehouse, converted to a hydroponic facility.

    Situation
    A ~3,750 sq ft empty warehouse that had to become a fully operational hydroponic facility, from the utility service up.
    The work
    Our principal planned, budgeted and led the conversion: a utility transformer upgrade, underground plumbing and reservoirs, framing, HVAC and environmental controls, backup systems, permits, inspections and commissioning.

    Result

    • ~400A main electrical service
    • ~20 tons of HVAC
    • ~$250K buildout and equipment budget

Engagements

Five ways to engage.

Every engagement is principal-led, scoped in writing before it begins and measured against The Ruskow Standard from the first week.

  1. Diagnostic

    Two weeks

    A two-week assessment of the business against the seven pillars. By the end of week two you will know your break-even, your cash position and your next 90 days.

    What you receive

    • A seven-pillar scorecard of the business
    • Your cash position and break-even, in writing
    • A 90-day plan, in priority order

  2. Turnaround Program

    90 days to stabilize, six months to rebuild

    For a business under pressure. We stabilize the cash first, then rebuild the operation on all seven pillars, with weekly reporting against the plan.

    What you receive

    • Cash stabilization and a monthly budget
    • A restructured chain of command with defined roles
    • Quarterly seven-pillar audits

  3. Fractional Executive

    COO or CFO, month to month

    Senior operating or financial leadership without the full-time hire. Our principal takes the seat, runs the cadence and builds the team that will hold it.

    What you receive

    • Monthly financials, cash flow and break-even
    • A weekly leadership and KPI cadence
    • Documented roles and a team ready to run them

  4. Owner's Representative

    Site selection to opening day

    For founders putting serious capital into a building. We sit on the owner's side of the table for the whole project and hold design, trades, permits and budget to one plan.

    What you receive

    • Site and lease evaluation
    • Bid leveling and change-order control
    • Commissioning and opening-day readiness

  5. AI Systems Sprint

    Four to six weeks

    One working system, scoped, built and handed over: an intake agent, a follow-up pipeline or a KPI dashboard, monitored after launch.

    What you receive

    • A working system in production
    • Monitoring, alerting and spend caps
    • Documentation and a handover session
  • We accept a limited number of engagements each quarter.
  • Engagements begin by application.
  • Remote and on-site engagements anywhere in the United States.
Apply for an engagement

Fit

Who we work with, and who we don't.

We hold every engagement to a standard, so we choose them with care. The right fit matters as much as the problem.

We work with

  • Owner-operated businesses with real revenue and a problem worth solving.
  • A leader willing to be held to a standard, and to hold the team to it.
  • Owners ready to see the numbers as they are.
  • Founders committing serious capital to a building who want one plan and one point of accountability.

We don't work with

  • Businesses looking for someone to blame.
  • Buyers shopping for a discount rather than a result.
  • Owners who want a plan they won't execute.
  • Requests to make the numbers look better rather than be better.

Seven-Pillar Diagnostic

Score your business against the standard.

Seven statements, one for each pillar of The Ruskow Standard. Score each from 1, not true today, to 5, true and documented. Nothing leaves this page until you send it.

  1. Mindset & accountability2017 · 23

    1 Firefighting5 Owned and measured

  2. Branding2017 · 23

    1 Mixed signals5 One clear story

  3. Marketing2017 · 13

    1 Unmeasured spend5 Every dollar tracked

  4. Communication2017 · 23

    1 Hallways and rumor5 Clear protocols

  5. Culture2017 · 13

    1 Churn and gossip5 Trained and steady

  6. Structure2017 · 13

    1 Everyone does everything5 Clear chain of command

  7. Finance2017 · 13

    1 Guesswork5 Budgeted, with a reserve

Your business

An illustrative scoring of the documented starting condition, within days of possible closure. The company was co-founded and led by our principal, and was the world's largest flotation therapy center throughout our principal's tenure, through May 2023.

Total

21/ 35Exposed

Some pillars are carrying the rest. The weakest one sets the ceiling for the whole business, so that is where the work begins.

All seven pillars score the same.

Score bands

  1. Critical7 to 14
  2. Exposed15 to 21
  3. Stable22 to 28
  4. Standard29 to 35

Score each statement from 1 to 5 and add the seven scores for a total out of 35. The score bands show where you stand. Bring your scores to your application. Apply for an engagement

Your scores go into the application below. You review everything before it is sent.

Insights

Essays from the record.

Our point of view, written from the work: a turnaround, a buildout and the discipline that keeps a business in order.

All insights
Michael Ruskow, founder and principal of Ruskow Consulting

Our principal

“The way you do one thing is the way you do everything.”

Michael RuskowFounder and principal

Every engagement is led by our principal, Michael Ruskow: 25+ years of building, running and rescuing businesses, more than 75 people hired and led, and more than seven figures of his own capital behind his own standards.

The Ruskow Standard was built with a strategist in the 2017 turnaround of a company co-founded and led by our principal, and has been refined in every engagement since. He stays in the work from the first week to the last audit, with our network of specialists behind him.

Meet our principal

Apply

Apply for an engagement

  1. We accept a limited number of engagements each quarter.
  2. Every application is read by our principal.
  3. You will hear from us within one business day.

Or write to us

hello@ruskowconsulting.com

Received.

You will hear from us within one business day.

Urgency

What is happening in the business, and what you want to change.

Your details are used only to respond to your application. Privacy notice