The Secret Tool Justin Wilhelms Uses to Unleash Team Potential and Drive Profits

After building and selling a successful business, Justin Wilhelms took a leap into his true calling—helping overwhelmed business owners regain control. In this edition of the Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur Spotlight, Justin shares how he evolved into a Fractional CEO, guiding entrepreneurs stuck at growth plateaus toward freedom, efficiency, and profitability. With tools like The Working Genius and a process-first mindset, he’s transforming businesses from the inside out—unlocking not just operational growth, but peace of mind for the owners behind them.

Hi, Justin Wilhelms! Thanks for joining us today. Tell us about your business. Who do you serve, how do you serve them, and what's the impact that your business and work makes?

I operate as a Fractional CEO to small business owners that have grown a successful business that is hitting the first big plateau.  Owners that are still engaged in most/all of the business and are struggling to determine how to break through the next step so the business can run more effectively with less of them.  This is all driven by productivity improvement, in both people and process.  First, we work to engage the people in the right way using a tool called The Working Genius.  Second, we focus on the way the business functions internally to determine if the process can still operate at a much larger scale.  As we work to improve both lanes, the business becomes more efficient, culture significantly improves, and profitability goes up.

Tell us about the moment you finally felt like you went from wantrepreneur to entrepreneur.

When I officially opened my practice.  I always enjoyed working with owners over the years providing insights and help on how to better their business.  But it became real when I made it my sole focus and full time career change.  Once my clients were making substantial improvements and becoming less stressed, it brought me joy that I was living out my tag line "Bringing Freedom to You in Your Business"

Describe the moment or period in your life/career that motivated you to make the entrepreneurial leap.

After building a successful business and selling it, I realized it was time for me to exit and move to the lane I now belonged.  Throughout the years, my experience was building the skillset I needed to become the Fractional CEO God had designed me for.  I needed to go through the challenges and struggles to learn how to grow in business.  Without the experience I lived and the mentors I learned under, I would have never been able to develop into where I am today.

Describe a tool, service, or software that has been a game-changer for your business. How does it contribute to your success?

The Working Genius.  It reshapes and reframes how to look at the people in any organization.  It is a productivity tool that improves delegation efforts, who you bring into various meetings, how people are more in tune with how to collaborate, etc.  It become the primary filter in all decision making and speeds up who gets involved at what step you are in everything you do.

We know that success is very often a non-linear path. Tell us about a failure, pivot point, or lesson that changed your course or direction and helped to get you where you are today.

Early in my career I entered recruiting.  I interviewed for a role the recruitment team was trying to fill, but during my interview the owner stepped in an offered me a job to work at the firm.  Shortly after that was the crash of 2008.  Many employers paused hiring and our industry halted.  In a tough economic climate I learned a ton about recruiting.  Unfortunately I had to be let go as it was a small firm and the owner could not afford to keep me on any longer.  Those skills became useful later in my career as I did most of the hiring process in future roles.

What unconventional strategy did you employ that significantly impacted your business?

In my role in the water treatment industry, much of the marketplace was shifting to separating sales and service.  I held to keeping our employees as a dual role.  This improved our selling strategy and was appealing to our clients.  It also made our reps stronger in the field as there is significant crossover between both sides of the business.  We really worked together as a very strong team that helped support each other throughout the organization on both sides of the business.

What’s something you wish you knew sooner that you’d give as advice for aspiring or newer entrepreneurs?

It's what I really work to instill in my clients, make sure you build a solid foundation for a much larger company.  Use platforms, systems, and processes that will still be relevant and work when your business grows.  Don't take the easy way out or create work arounds just because you can now, they will become huge headaches and things you have to tear down and rebuild at some point.

Want to dive deeper into Justin's work? Check out the links below!

• Visit JW Innovative Coaching's website: jwicfreedom.com
• Connect with Justin Wilhelms on LinkedIn: Justin Wilhelms