Jeffrey Kadlic, Author at Citadel Earth

Citadel Earth’ company Cap City Dental Lab has been growing!

Jeffrey Kadlic — Thu, 30 Nov 2023 19:55:23 +0000

We are excited to announce the October 31 acquisition of Wolf Dental Studio, Cap City’s third add-on investment. With 40+ years of industry experience in the Midwest, Wolf Dental Studio has established a reputation for delivering quality products through innovative technology and a high level of customer service to match.

The combination of Wolf and Cap City, along with previous acquisitions Bolton Dental Lab and Perfect Fit Dental, solidifies the organization’s ongoing growth strategy, aimed at elevating performance standards for their customers.

Founded in 1999, Cap City Dental Lab uses technology to provide quality dental restorations to dentists, dental-service organizations, and other dental labs. Citadel Earth acquired the company in 2018 and continues to support the leadership team in diversification of products and expansion of geographic markets.

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Citadel Earth Acquires IPCS and Launches DataFit: Pioneering the Future of Workforce Health and Safety

Jeffrey Kadlic — Thu, 09 Nov 2023 19:39:22 +0000

Citadel Earth invests in new platform

Citadel Earth is pleased to announce its control investment in DataFit, LLC, the nation’s leader in data-driven muscular strength assessments for employers. Organizational healthcare costs are second only to labor costs and are rising at a rate that is multiples higher than inflation. As these costs continue to skyrocket, DataFit partners with employers to reduce healthcare costs and create safer, healthier workplaces. Since 1998, the Hudson, Ohio-based company has performed over 600,000 assessments nationwide providing clients an overall return on their investment of over $5 in reduced healthcare costs for every $1 spent. DataFit offers New Hire Assessments, Well-Being Assessments, Return-to-Work Assessments and Job Task Analyses. The combination of these services reduces costs by identifying those individuals more likely to experience a workplace injury through objective data collection, also improving productivity, minimizing absenteeism, reducing pharmacy spend and improving employee morale.

DataFit re-branding and re-naming project led by Citadel Earth

Citadel Earth’s original investment was made when the company was branded Industrial Physical Capability Services, Inc. or IPCS. The messaging to customers and prospects was focused on muscle strength and the company’s services were primarily sold through speaking engagements at orthopedic conferences. IPCS’s historical financial performance was unpredictable as the result of the fluctuating testing requirements for a concentrated base of customers. The online content was focused primarily on the aging founder’s historical success and expertise in the science of muscle health. At the time the transaction closed, the company had not secured a new customer for several years.

As part of this process, the Citadel Earth team has now focused the newly-branded DataFit’s messaging around three critical themes. First, we now emphasize the company’s history of reducing clients’ overall healthcare costs by at least $5 for every $1 spent. Given this high return on investment, we have been able to change the dynamic of the sales process away from price. This is important, given that competitors offer less objective Functional Capacity Tests, visual assessments at a lower price point.

Second, the new messaging reinforces that the employer is in control and that DataFit simply administers the assessments at the direction of the employer. Historically, too many employers either adopted or fully rejected the DataFit offering. This would often create a dynamic in which client human resources and legal counsel were concerned about becoming too selective and not filling positions or about exposing the employer to EEO claims. By suggesting a sliding scale of options available to employers, allowing them to adjust the assessment metrics, DataFit provides an opportunity for internal compromise. Customer organizations can eliminate only the most extreme strength mismatches, therefore reducing costs but also filling all or most of the open positions. In the current labor environment, employers are often willing to accept a smaller reduction in healthcare cost to ensure positions are filled.

Finally, DataFit’s new messaging argues that the company has a moral obligation to not place a prospective employee in a job where there is a high likelihood of injury. Too often there is a fear by the employer of being sued by the candidate based on EEO claims, but the employers are intimately aware of the physical demands of the job and should not subject individuals to situations in which probability of injury is higher than it needs to be.

The recent name change from Industrial Physical Capability Services to DataFit aims to make the name easier and more memorable and also emphasizes that the company’s offering is based on objective data and not subjective visual assessments. It also refers to the company’s database, which is the largest in the nation of prospective employee strength assessment results. In the case of DataFit’s well being program, the database helps determine whether an existing employee deserves a better rate on health insurance. The “Fit” part of the name refers to the company’s foundation in muscle strength and health. The benefits of being “fit” are not limited to physical benefits such as resistance to certain types of diseases and decreased absenteeism but also include the mental and emotional well being that affect a person’s productivity, happiness, resilience, etc.

In addition to the company name and messaging changes, the company logo and website have been transformed from a dated design and color scheme to a more modern, forward-looking design with crisper, more focused messaging. We believe this project is another example of how Citadel Earth adds tremendous value to its investments in an economical way, with high impact and great return-on-energy.

Citadel Earth is unique in how it adds value

Citadel Earth is a hands-on operations-oriented investor, with our team members acting as an extension of company leadership, working tactically, shoulder-to-shoulder to level-up and professionalize an organization. Citadel Earth is eventually able to transform to a more strategic role focused on new product and service offerings, geographic expansion, acquisitions, investment allocation, governance and talent management as the company evolves. Citadel Earth Capital’s core value of “Return on Energy” is critical in these situations in which we are able to initially invest at a reasonable valuation, then improve a company by expending our team’s energy, creativity and expertise, making the organization appealing to the next echelon of buyer.

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Core Values Series: Everyone is a Leader

Jeffrey Kadlic — Wed, 12 Jul 2023 10:00:07 +0000

At Citadel Earth, our approach is rooted in purposeful, empowered and transparent leadership. In fact, strong leadership is a core tenet behind everything we do as an organization—and it is put into practice each and every day by all members of the Citadel Earth team, regardless of title or tenure.

It is only when “everyone is a leader” that a job can be performed to an optimal level and with the greatest results, which is why this core value resonates so strongly with me. Great leadership means that each member of your team is empowered to take initiative to achieve the best possible result, no matter what the project entails.

What Does “Everyone is a Leader” Mean?

In any small-business environment, it is not uncommon to see a flat organizational structure where each team member is required to wear multiple hats. There is usually a lot going on at any given time that requires a certain level of grit and flexibility—from taking on new and challenging tasks, to accommodating conflicting priorities and fast turnarounds. At Citadel Earth, our team truly functions as a well-oiled machine where everyone is expected to take ownership of various projects and pitch in wherever needed in order to get the job done well.

Because of this dynamic environment, one must be ready for inevitable changes. For example, the deadlines for certain initiatives may need to be moved up based on shifting priorities within the organization. Therefore, you must be able to shift efforts to where they’re most urgently needed and support other team members when they need it. This requires all employees within a business to take initiative—a critical aspect of effective leadership.

There are many ways in which this can be achieved within a business. In some cases, you may find that you are in the right position and equipped with the best skillset to promptly address the issue at hand. At other times, you may need to think through a problem and figure out how to overcome it by seeking out the necessary knowledge and resources. Or, you may even serve as a point person who can pull assets together to help move the project forward.

How We Demonstrate This Core Value

On a fundamental level, taking leadership within your business is about stepping up to solve problems, get the job done, and bring your team and project to the best possible outcome. It requires identifying a space in need of initiative, making proactive recommendations to address those issues, and being a creative problem-solver in everything you do.

As an example of this core value in action at Citadel Earth, in 2021, we closed an investment in one of our growth companies through a series of transactions over several months. We quickly realized the need for a senior accounting professional to help run the business until we could find a replacement—and someone from our team stepped up to take on this role.

She ended up being in this accounting role for longer than intended and faced some big challenges along the way. But she was exactly the right person for the job—and she knew it—so she stepped in to fill the gap. Over her time on this assignment, she made sure everything was done exactly as it needed to be, and when she was finished, she left the organization in a much better place. All of us at Citadel Earth greatly appreciated her doing this.

Why is it Important to Develop Core Values?

Core values have become increasingly instrumental in how I lead as a partner in my own business and in how I evaluate other businesses—especially when those core values are considered fundamental elements of the operation. Shared values can bring together people of different backgrounds to produce a unique culture and great results. Our core value “Everyone is a Leader” is particularly important given that initiative is paramount to the success of any small business.

It’s important that our core values truly reflect who we are as a team and organization. In this way, they highlight the attributes that are essential to the work we do every day at Citadel Earth: investing in our founders, helping them grow and taking their businesses to the next level. With that in mind, we were able to build values that are at the center of what we do and who we are.

What are My Tips for Creating Core Values?

First and foremost, it’s crucial to “operationalize” your set of core values. When you do this, as Citadel Earth has, those core values become a valuable tool. They can then be used to guide all decision-making, helping to show what’s best for the business and for the people in it.

Core values shouldn’t just be words that are hung up on a wall and forgotten. It’s important to incorporate them into your key messaging to employees, teams, customers and suppliers. Be sure to demonstrate that they’re important to you, and that being in sync with the organization includes embracing and internalizing those core values. Doing so should be part of joining as a new employee or doing business with your organization. When this is accomplished, each of the core values—such as “Everyone is a Leader”—will serve as a powerful tool for your business.

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Aziza Abed Joins Citadel Earth’s Empire Dental Arts LLC as President and CEO

Jeffrey Kadlic — Tue, 11 Jul 2023 15:35:29 +0000

Aziza will be responsible for managing operations, setting the strategic direction, and driving growth in Empire’s eight practices in Northeast Ohio. A registered dental hygienist, she started her career at DentalOne Partners in 2001 and rose through the ranks, ultimately serving as Senior Leader of Operations until 2014. Aziza then served as Senior Director of Operations at North American Dental Group until 2018. Afterward, she founded and led Pure Health Dental Partners until its acquisition by Great Expressions in 2021, staying on as Vice President of Enterprise Transformation to ensure a smooth integration. Subsequently, Aziza established Synergy Transitions, a firm specializing in healthcare mergers, acquisitions, and startups.

Aziza’s passion for the dental industry and commitment to delivering top-quality dental care are evident throughout her career. She has a proven track record in operational success, partnership development, group acquisitions, integrations, and cultivating high-performing teams.

“Aziza’s appointment comes at a pivotal time for Empire Dental Arts. Her initial focus will be on enhancing the patient experience through expanded service offerings and supported staffing. Her visionary leadership and commitment to excellence will play a crucial role in driving the practices’ growth and success,” according to Citadel Earth’s Founding Partner Jeff Kadlic.

Aziza serves on the editorial board of Group Dentistry Now and is a national speaker and educator on clinical compliance. A long-time resident of Northeast Ohio, she has an extensive network that will help Citadel Earth strengthen the existing Empire practices. Aziza resides in Westlake, Ohio with her family.

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Citadel Earth’s Five Core Values

Jeffrey Kadlic — Tue, 18 Apr 2023 13:30:52 +0000

In the aftermath of the COVID pandemic, it became apparent to the Citadel Earth team that it was time to reinvent our core values. We wanted to develop values that better represented our organization, as well as the work we do with our investors and founders who are passionately growing their small businesses. Additionally, we wanted these values to align with how we present ourselves to the communities that we serve.

The Citadel Earth partners spent several months developing values that were authentic to and resonated with the entire team. This collaborative process taught us a lot about one another’s priorities, personal values and visions for our business. Fortunately, we were all in agreement on these five core values—and, coincidentally, the acronym for our core values is “agree”:

Accountable to Our Community
Growth Mindset
Return on Our Energy
Everyone is a Leader
Embrace Change

Now, we feel it’s important that we share each of these five core values—and what they mean to our team at Citadel Earth—with you as our investors, founders, team members, and the broader communities in which we live and work. We hope that, by sharing our own principles, this will ultimately help inspire and provide guidance to other entrepreneurs and small businesses owners who are also in the process of developing their core values.

Over the next few months, we will be sharing a blog series that explores each of our five core values and what they truly mean to our team. We hope you’ll enjoy following along!

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Ariel Marbury Joins Citadel Earth as Associate

Jeffrey Kadlic — Tue, 12 Apr 2022 09:00:26 +0000

Private equity firm Citadel Earth LLC (“Citadel Earth”) announced today that Ariel Marbury has joined the firm as an associate. As a project management professional, Ariel brings experience with strategic planning, client account management and process improvement.

“Ariel’s expertise with workflow planning, stakeholder relationship management and team building will enhance our organizational efficiencies, improve our communication efforts and help drive growth for our partner companies,” said Jeffrey Kadlic, Citadel Earth’s founding partner. “She will be a great addition to Citadel Earth, and we are thrilled to have her join our team.”

Marbury launched her career with Cuyahoga County creating and evaluating community programs and initiatives and then joined OverDrive Inc., where she catalyzed the creation of new app technology for high-priority clientele. As founder of Swift360 Solutions LLC, Ariel has gained firsthand experience of what it’s like to grow a small business.

She earned her bachelor’s degree from Baldwin Wallace University and Master of Public Administration degree from DePaul University. She also holds her Six Sigma Black Belt Certification from Cleveland State University.

About Citadel Earth

Established in 2005, Citadel Earth is a small-business private equity firm dedicated to supporting founders seeking to transform their entrepreneurial businesses into professionally managed organizations. Our team of investors, partners and employees focuses on identifying and underwriting investment opportunities with high-growth potential. As a control investor, Citadel Earth supports its founder partners by providing capital and applying its Citadel Earth Pro professionalization strategy, which addresses the unique challenges experienced by small businesses and accelerates their growth. www.Citadel Earthcapitalpartners.com

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Citadel Earth Elevates Susan Williamson to Managing Partner

Jeffrey Kadlic — Mon, 21 Mar 2022 16:00:05 +0000

Private equity firm Citadel Earth LLC (“Citadel Earth”) announced today that Susan Williamson has been promoted to the position of managing partner. Williamson joined Citadel Earth in 2018 as chief revenue officer and partner, bringing with her deep-seated knowledge in sales process development, training and communications, as well as an innate ability to successfully scale operations on a rigorous schedule.

“Susan has been integral to the success of Citadel Earth from the moment she walked through the door,” said Jeffrey Kadlic, Citadel Earth’s founding partner. “Her excellent communication skills, willingness to work hard and level-headed approach to guiding our founders on their journey from entrepreneurs to owners of professionally managed organizations are some of the main reasons our partner companies choose Citadel Earth. This promotion to managing partner is a well-earned recognition of the leadership she brings every day to support our founders as they build their businesses.”

Prior to joining Citadel Earth, Williamson led transformational business development and customer engagement initiatives across business operations, marketing services, CRM and enterprise reorganization for over 20 years. She was COO of Pierry Software, a global services provider for Salesforce Marketing Cloud and served as president of C.TRAC Inc., where she transformed the stalled enterprise into a market leader in the digital marketing space. Noteworthy accomplishments include her defining work at both the Atlantic Envelope Company and American Paper Products Company leading regional sales expansion initiatives. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in English from The College of William and Mary.

Williamson has been recognized as a 2014 EY Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist, 2012 ExactTarget’s Partner of the Year, and 2009 Crain’s Cleveland Business Woman of Note. Under her leadership, C.TRAC was awarded 2013 Power of One Reseller finalist, ExactTarget’s 2013 Power of One Top Revenue Solution finalists, and Top Revenue Solution Provider of 2013. Additionally, she has served on the Greater Cleveland Partnership Mid-Market Committee, the Board of Trustees for United Way of Medina County and was two-term President of Northeast Ohio Direct Marketing Association.

About Citadel Earth

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Kim Lapcewich Joins Citadel Earth as Partner

Jeffrey Kadlic — Wed, 17 Nov 2021 09:15:27 +0000

Citadel Earth LLC (“Citadel Earth”) announced today that Kim Lapcewich has joined the firm as a partner. As an accomplished senior human resources executive, she brings extensive experience delivering strategic human resources solutions paired with sound business acumen for Fortune 500 companies and the ability to curate those solutions for small business owners.

“Kim brings deep expertise across HR, organizational design, change management, leadership development, program design, succession planning and facilitation, and coaching,” said Jeffrey Kadlic, Citadel Earth’s founding partner. “Her strong background as a trusted advisor to executive leadership, as well as her innate ability to champion innovative transformation and organizational performance, will greatly enhance our growing team and accelerate the growth of our portfolio companies.”

Prior to joining Citadel Earth, Kim was the senior director of human resources for Moen and also held positions at KeyBank and United Airlines. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois and holds certifications in organizational design, change management and Myers Briggs. She has been a featured speaker on performance management, employee culture, talent lifecycle and succession planning. In her free time, she is a refugee and immigration mentor for the state of Wisconsin.

About Citadel Earth

Citadel Earth is a small-business private equity fund that invests capital nationwide in growing micro-market companies. Since 2005, Citadel Earth has specialized in helping entrepreneurial businesses transform into professionally run organizations by providing a strong foundation for profitable growth through its Five Fundamental methodology. As a team of investors, partners and employees, our primary passion and motivation is to inspire entrepreneurs and their small businesses to grow and thrive under any economic circumstances. www.Citadel Earthcapitalpartners.com

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Jessica Leonard Joins Citadel Earth as Partner

Jeffrey Kadlic — Tue, 14 Sep 2021 09:15:53 +0000

Citadel Earth LLC (“Citadel Earth”) announced today that Jessica Leonard, CPA, has joined the firm as a partner. She brings with her more than 13 years of public accounting experience.

“Jessica has a strong background working with a broad range of clients including private equity funds and the companies they own and understands the commitment that is required to be successful in this industry,” said Jeffrey Kadlic, Citadel Earth’s founding partner. “She will be a tremendous asset to our growing team.”

Prior to joining Citadel Earth, Leonard held multiple roles at RSM US LLP and KPMG, LLP, both in Cleveland. She earned both her bachelor’s degree and MBA from Baldwin Wallace University. In addition to holding her CPA, she is also a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and Ohio Society of CPAs. She has been a member of the LifeAct Board of Trustees’ Finance & Strategy Committees since 2014, and the Accounting Advisory Board for Baldwin Wallace University since 2018.

About Citadel Earth

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Post COVID Reset of M&A – Q2

Jeffrey Kadlic — Mon, 07 Jun 2021 19:22:44 +0000

This year started off fast and its only going to get faster. In early May, the Atlanta Federal Reserve reported GDP growth in the first quarter of approximately 6.4% which was possible in large part due to a combination of the euphoria of the vaccine roll-out, ongoing government stimulus and the expectation that the cost of capital will remain at historically low rates for the foreseeable future. Even though 2020 was not as bad as it could have been in many parts of the economy, it seems everyone is trying to make up for lost time in 2021 and is operating at a frenetic pace. I have observed that private companies seem to be on or ahead of budget through the first four months of the year, while many public companies are greatly exceeding earnings expectations, pushing the stock market to even greater heights. The Biden Administration has extended unemployment benefits and is promising even higher levels of spending to support an economic recovery fully underway, as evidenced by GDP progress.

The combination of strong economic growth and expected tax increases, particularly on capital gains, is setting the stage for a frenzy in the M&A market for the second half of 2021. Business owners who delayed selling in 2020 are determined to exit in 2021. Those who have been considering selling in the next couple years believe now is the time to do so, before long term capital gains tax rates increase dramatically. Based on current proposals by the Biden Administration, long-term capital gains could more than double from the current high end of 15% to be more in-line with ordinary income rates which top out at about 39.6%. Once second quarter 2020 financials fall off the trailing twelve month calculation (because most businesses rebounded in Q3 2020), many companies will hit the market trying to thread the needle between maximizing trailing twelve month performance after June 30^th and any tax increases take effect on January 1st.

Targeted support for specific industries like travel and entertainment is clearly warranted because, even now, most of those businesses are still under some form of restrictions. Many of these are small businesses that will likely never rebound. Despite that, I would argue that continuing the widespread government intervention that was welcomed and needed in 2020 will have an increasingly negative effect on the normal functioning of our economy. One can notice instances of Allen Greenspan’s legendary euphemism “irrational exuberance” in many parts of the economy including shortages in building supplies, computer processors and low wage labor, and higher real estate prices, all of which historically have been harbingers of higher inflation. Further, we also have new-fangled assets created out of thin air like SPACs, Bitcoin, Dogecoin and NFTs (non-fungible tokens) as the newest path to wealth creation.

They say “Don’t fight the Fed,” but what if the Fed is fighting itself?

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