About
There’s More to Owning a Business Than Mastering Your Craft
Meet Cliff Forsgren, founder of Engineered Financial Solutions.
- Certified Exit Planner (CExP)
- Certified Organizational ReWilding Adviser (CORA™)
- Associate Member, American Council of Engineering Companies of Utah
- Utah State University
Where it started
Two Excellent Farmers. Two Very Different Outcomes.
I grew up in Nampa, Idaho, in farm country, near the Oregon border. Two of my friends’ fathers were big potato farmers. The potato market fluctuates from one year to the next; this can make it difficult to succeed. There are no secrets among kids, and everybody knew who was having a good year or a bad one.
I noticed one family rode out the swings better than the other. So I asked my dad, who knew every farmer around, whether Farmer #1 was really that much better a farmer than Farmer #2.
He said no. They were both excellent farmers.
The difference was that Farmer #1 owned a business that happened to be a farm. Farmer #2 was a very good farmer.
Why EFS exists
More Time For What Matters.
It took me years to understand what he meant. Since then I’ve seen it in nearly every industry I’ve worked with. Most engineers are very good engineers. Most contractors build great projects. But they own a business, and nobody ever taught them how to run one.
I started my career in engineering myself, then spent more than 10 years in personal financial and business services, helping owners grow their companies, plan for retirement, and transfer ownership.
That’s why I started Engineered Financial Solutions. I want to help as many engineers, surveyors, and contractors as I can become business owners who happen to be engineers, surveyors, and contractors.
A lot of owners are working long hours and miss the things that really matter: family, community, church. One of my best moments in this work came after a client meeting, when my client’s wife walked up, gave me a hug, and thanked me for the difference I had made in their lives. “I want to experience that over and over again.”
Off the clock
Born and Raised on a Horse, Chasing Cows
Boots, buckles, belts, and hats are still a part of my wardrobe. These days you’ll find me keeping up with the grandkids, some of them have show horses, or on the golf course, where I get more strokes per dollar than just about anybody that I know.”
Every Stage Has Its Problems. You Don’t Have to Find Them Alone.
One conversation. No pitch deck, no pressure. We’ll figure out where your company is and what’s costing you the most.