In fact, the business began as what she calls a “happy accident.”
At the time, Debra was running career services at a university. She loved helping people land stretch roles and earn more than they thought possible. But she realized she didn’t love being a college administrator.
So she began freelancing, supporting professionals through their job searches. That’s when she discovered that the executive job search followed entirely different rules. The strategies, tools and even the way executives went to market were different than for traditional roles. Yet there were no firms specializing in this space.
Debra decided to fill this gap.
What started as a solo venture soon grew into a specialized firm helping vice presidents, C-suite leaders and board candidates secure their next opportunities. Over the next nine years, D&S expanded from a side hustle into a global team of 15, becoming one of the few U.S. firms dedicated specifically to board leadership.
The growth was exciting, but it also exposed the limits of running everything herself. Debra was juggling service delivery with business operations, all while raising two young children. She recalls leaving her VP-level corporate role to go all in on the business.
“I sat down at my laptop that first day and thought, the training wheels are gone,” Debra remembered. “We either make it or we don’t.”
Hiring her first operations person was a turning point. It freed Debra to think about growth rather than just delivery. From there, she began to niche down exclusively into executive and board-level work, a move her peers in the career industry thought was crazy at first.
Yet narrowing the focus raised her credibility. Executives trusted her more because she wasn’t trying to serve everyone. Soon, D&S was winning larger opportunities, including a partnership with the New York Stock Exchange that helped cement its reputation in the board leadership space.
Still, challenges lingered. The company had grown mostly through referrals. Marketing was ad hoc. Metrics weren’t tracked because they didn’t need to be. And while Debra had always sought coaching at different stages of her journey, she was looking for something that could bring structure to the business as it matured.
Debra joined Predictable Profits about a year ago, and it quickly shifted how she thought about growth.“From the very first conversation, I could tell they got it,” she said. “Most coaching is either for solopreneurs or $10 million companies. Predictable Profits understood where I was as a mid-stage growth company that needed systems.”
One of the biggest changes was cultural. Before, nothing was tracked. Yet within a few months, Debra and her team had built a rhythm around the CEO Scorecard, reviewing revenue, pipeline activity and upcoming opportunities together twice a week.
“It completely changed how we operate,” she explained. “Now, every decision is based on numbers, not guesswork.”
She also learned how to turn her firm’s thought leadership into a reliable lead engine. For years, D&S hosted weekly LinkedIn Live sessions that raised visibility but didn’t drive measurable growth. A simple suggestion from Predictable Profits — pairing each event with a lead magnet — transformed those sessions into true demand generators.
In the past year alone, the company has captured more than 600 new leads. Another breakthrough came when Predictable Profits encouraged her to package services into a repeatable framework. What was once a series of loosely connected deliverables became the Executive Edge Method, a proprietary process that now defines the company’s positioning.
Building on this foundation, Debra also created a recurring monthly service, giving D&S a base of predictable revenue each month. This is something they had never experienced before.
Even the way her team approached tools changed. After moving to HubSpot with help from other Predictable Profits members, Debra began experimenting with retargeting ads. Using the AI tools provided inside the Board of Directors program, she reworked her campaigns and click-through rates nearly doubled.
“The Board of Directors group is like having a real board I can tap anytime,” she said.
For instance, when she struggled with HubSpot early on, fellow members literally walked her through their own systems.
“Where else do business owners show you the backend of how they make money?” she said. “The insight is invaluable.”
The ripple effects have extended into her personal life. Recently, she recalled running errands while notifications of people downloading her lead magnet from a LinkedIn Live kept popping up on her phone.
“I thought, is this what it’s supposed to feel like? I’m shopping and leads are coming in.”
She’s also been able to step back. Team members now attend Predictable Profits calls in her place and bring back takeaways. Vacations no longer mean putting the business on hold.
Looking back, Debra sees Predictable Profits as a pivotal step in moving from entrepreneur to CEO.
“I thought I had to touch everything all the time.” Debra stressed. “Predictable Profits showed me how to build processes, empower my team and think bigger. Even in a tough market, we’re ahead of competitors — and I finally have the confidence and freedom to know the business doesn’t depend on me 24/7.”
