Every call. Every decision. Every problem. Still you.
Makeeff Group is an advisory, operations, and communications firm for founder-led service businesses. We build the systems, the team, and the brand that take you out of the middle, so your company can run, grow, and hold its value, with or without you.
Could you take two weeks off?
The track record behind the firm
The company grew. It never grew past you.
Your phone rings on vacation.
You hired good people, and you're still doing their jobs.
The more you grow, the more you work.
You know what needs fixing. You never get to it.
That's the Founder's Ceiling. It's common, and it's fixable. Here's how we work.
Three ways to work with us.
Every engagement is scoped around an outcome, not a count of hours. Each one includes the one before it.
Find what's capping growth.
Two weeksWe look at the business the way a buyer would. Where it depends on the founder, where revenue leaks, and what's already there that no one has put to work. You get a written plan, in order of impact.
Fix the biggest problem first.
Thirty daysWe take the top finding and build the fix with your team. A hiring pipeline, a membership, an intake system, a referral engine, an online brand. Built, running, and handed over in a month.
Keep building, month to month.
Ongoing · cancel anytimeA standing seat on your leadership team. We keep building through the plan and pressure-test the calls that are yours to make.
Not ready for an engagement? Start with a complimentary review. We look at your business the way a stranger does, through your website, listings, and reviews, and send the findings in writing.
The systems behind a company that holds.
Build the Bench
Hiring pipelines and roles that take the founder out of the middle of every decision.
Recurring revenue and referrals
Memberships, service plans, and referral programs that turn one-off jobs into predictable income.
Operations and systems
Dispatch, scheduling, intake, and the playbooks that let the team run without asking.
AI with a person in charge
Intake, follow-up, and admin agents that save hours, with a human on every decision that matters.
Online brand and reputation
Websites, search, listings, reviews, and social profiles that make the business look as good online as it is in person.
Communications and go-to-market
Positioning, messaging, and launches that make the right customers find you first and choose you.
Built for companies that sell service.
The work is the same wherever the founder is the bottleneck. These are the industries we know best.
Skilled Trades
HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing, and remodeling.
Learn more →Medical Practices
Independent and multi-provider practices.
Learn more →Law and Professional Services
Firms where partners carry the whole book.
Learn more →Real Estate and Development
Brokerages and developer sales teams.
Learn more →Pet Care
Sitting, walking, boarding, and grooming companies.
Learn more →Any Service Company
If customers pay for your time and expertise, the playbook applies.
The BUILD Method™
Every engagement runs on the same five steps. We stay in the work with you. No binder handed over at the end.
The bench
We have a team of specialists to meet each phase of the work, across hiring, finance, systems, branding, communications, and AI. Jennifer Makeeff leads every engagement, and the right people join as the work calls for them. You get the full team without paying for a standing agency.
- Build the foundation.Get the core systems right before adding more weight.
- Uncover what you already have.Customers, people, and data the business has never put to work.
- Install the resilience.Backups for the backups. One bad day never becomes a bad year.
- Live in the work.We build alongside your team until it runs.
- Deliver.A company that runs, grows, and holds its value, with or without the founder.
Jennifer Makeeff
Jennifer Makeeff founded Makeeff Group and leads every engagement. Her career began in presidential advance, communications, and operations for administrations of both parties, and took her to launches across five continents.
She built a service company to seven-plus figures on about $3,000 in paid ads, ran it through the pandemic while competitors closed, then sold it. Its core team is still in place. That's the standard she builds to.
The Wall Street Journal · Washingtonian · Martha Stewart Living · The Huffington Post · Advisorpedia
Before Makeeff Group, there was Makeeff Photography, her parents' studio. Both are award-winning photographers who built it with no investors and no safety net. Visit Makeeff Photography →
Also from Makeeff Group.
The Jenn Files
Business, money, resilience, and grit. Weekly writing by Jennifer Makeeff.
thejennfiles.com →Women Build & Own
A community for women building and rebuilding what they own.
womenbuildandown.com →22 Days to Financial Freedom™
Know your number. Own your life.
22days.co →Integrative Pet Parent
Whole-body health for dogs and cats.
integrativepetparent.com →Start a conversation.
Tell us where the business is stuck. We'll reply within two business days. No pitch deck. No pressure.
Want a quick read first? Take the Two-Week Test™ and see how much of your business runs through you.