Business Performance Advisory
“What you don't know yet — what you haven't thought of yet — that's what truly matters. Figure that out. Every day. Every hour. Every second.”
Garthism was founded by Mark Shoe — forty years spent building companies from scratch, buying and selling operations, rehabbing and flipping properties, and walking into other people's businesses as a fresh set of eyes. In every situation: the owner, the operator, and the outside perspective. The results improved every single time. Not a streak. A way of operating. Now Garthism brings that same perspective to small and mid-size businesses across Grand Rapids, West Michigan, and beyond.
Before you click anything on this page — read it.
This page has enough information to know whether you should click the button — and learn what Garthism can do for your organization, your people, and your customers. The rest of the story unfolds in a conversation. But the foundation for that decision is right here.
Take a few minutes. Read what's here. Then decide.
— Garthism · Founded by Mark Shoe
Most business consultants walk into a room and apply what they already know. Garthism walks in specifically looking for what it doesn't know yet. That is not a technique. It is a completely different orientation — one instilled in Mark Shoe by his grandfather before he was old enough to understand how rare it was.
“Mark, it is not what you know that matters. You're gonna act, react, respond, make decisions based upon what you know — that's not what truly matters. What truly matters is what you don't know yet. What you haven't thought of yet. What is that 800 pound gorilla around the corner that's about to get you. Every single day, every single hour, every single minute, every single second — everything you see, or hear, or think — figure out what it is you don't know about it.”
— Garthism • 1976This is not a piece of advice Mark received once and filed away. It became a complete mentality — lived since childhood. Not just in business. In everything. If something crosses Garthism's path that needs to be understood, learning it is not optional. That drive is constant. It does not turn off. It never has.
That is why this company exists. And it is why it is named what it is.
In the 1930s, a young man named Garth came through the Depression determined to make something of himself. He started by knocking on doors in Detroit — telling stories, building relationships, selling magazine subscriptions one door at a time. He went on to build and own large condo and golf course developments across the Southern US. He grew them from nothing into something lasting. Everything he built, he built on a foundation of values — principles about how to treat people, what drives the choices you make, and equally, why you don't do certain things. Those are what Garthisms are. Not tactics. Not tips. A value system and a way of moving through the world.
When Mark was seven years old, Garth shared the Garthism above — the one that became the lens he peers at the world through. Mark has lived every moment of his life through it ever since. Garth went on to pass 82 of his Garthisms to Mark over a lifetime of conversations — not in one sitting, but over decades of phone calls and visits that continued well into the nineties. They became the foundation of everything Mark is. Not just how he operates in business, but who he is as a person. Every decision. Every relationship. Every moment.
There is one more Garthism that has shaped every business relationship Garthism has ever had:
“When you meet your customer and shake their hand — say to yourself, in the back of your brain — I will see you at the family reunion in July, and from that second forward, treat them accordingly.”
— Garthism • 1989Mark shares this Garthism at the moment it matters most — sometimes hours into a conversation, when the easy part is over and something important needs to be said. He stops. And he tells them:
“When we first met, I said to myself — I am going to see this person at the family reunion in July, and from that second forward, everything I have done has been lived accordingly. That is why our time together has gone the way it has gone.”
Garthism has been their advocate from the first handshake — not as a technique, but as a commitment. And because of that, we have earned the right to be direct. To tell clients what they need to hear. To ask them to trust the direction.
Every person. Every conversation. No exceptions.
A broken process, a team issue, a number that has been off for months — it is there whether anyone sees it or not. Some people never notice it at all. Others see it, make a mental note, intend to deal with it, and two days later it has become part of the furniture. And slowly, without anyone deciding to ignore it, it seems to become invisible. You can have a multimillion-dollar foyer and a dirty mop bucket sitting in the corner. It happens everywhere. In every business.
Invisible problems are exactly as real as visible ones. They just don't get fixed.
“Monday morning, I walked into the foyer of the country club and noticed a dirty yellow mop bucket sitting in the corner. I thought to myself, I ought to get that and put it in the janitor closet.”
“Tuesday, it was still there. I mentioned it to the desk clerk.”
“Wednesday I caught it in my peripheral vision and just kept walking.”
“Thursday it barely registered.”
“Friday — I didn't even see it anymore. But it had been there all week.”
“That's what happens in every business. The question is never whether the mop bucket is there. The question is what you're going to do about it.”
— Garthism • 1982Garthism walks in from outside. We see what's there — before familiarity has had any chance to blur it. And when something needs to change, Garth had a way of saying what comes next that never left Mark.
“Mark, if something needs fixin' — there are only three times to fix it.”
NOW. NOW. NOW.
— Garthism • 1982Took over a dealership in a potato field the owner said couldn't be profitable. Found publicly available data nobody else had thought to ask for differently. Same people. No new hires, no firings. Fourteen months: from losing $190,000 a year to making $483,000.
First business before he was old enough to drive. Two businesses built and sold before he was twenty-three. Three decades in automotive leadership while simultaneously buying, rehabbing, and flipping properties and starting businesses across multiple industries. No safety net. Just a way of operating.
Passed from a grandfather to his grandson starting in 1976 — over decades of conversations that never really stopped. They became the foundation of how Garthism leads, how we see business, and how we move through the world every single day.
Every business is different. There is no preset plan. The first step is listening — and after that first conversation, you'll hear honestly what Garthism thinks it can do. And what it can't.
Garthism is not here for a paycheck. We are here to make a real difference — for you, your business, your team, and your customers. If we do that, we earn our keep. If we don't, you don't pay.
You and Garthism get to know each other. You share what's going on. Questions get asked, the situation gets understood. You'll hear honestly whether Garthism can help — and if there's no genuine fit, the $199 comes back to you. If things move forward, it applies to your first month.
Start HereWhatever makes sense for your business — built after the first conversation. For some that's a trusted advisor available during business hours. For others it's ongoing analytics, competitive intelligence, or digital advertising. The scope is always built around what your business actually needs.
MonthlyA performance deep dive. A competitive analysis. A sales process review. A digital advertising campaign. Defined scope, agreed cost, clear deliverable. No surprises.
Defined ScopeGoogle Ads and Meta campaigns built around what customers actually respond to. Set up properly, managed monthly, reported on honestly. One tool among many — deployed when the strategy calls for it.
Add-OnOne conversation. Sixty minutes. No pitch. Just an honest look at your business — and straight talk about whether Garthism can help.
Applied to your first month if we move forward together
Zero risk. The $199 reserves your time with Garthism — and it tells us both that this conversation is worth taking seriously. If Garthism cannot genuinely help your organization, every dollar comes back to you. No conditions. No questions. We won't keep money we haven't earned. If we move forward together, it applies to your first month. Either way — you have nothing to lose.
You'll receive a Zoom link in your confirmation email immediately after booking.
Business advisory serving Grand Rapids, West Michigan, and beyond.
Garthism doesn't specialize in one type of business or one type of problem. You direct where the fresh eyes go — that's where the focus lands. Every situation is different, and the right direction won't be clear until there's actually a conversation.
If there's a part of your business Garthism genuinely can't help with — that gets said plainly. You'll hear what was noticed and why it's outside scope. This isn't about collecting a check. It's about earning one.
— Garthism • 1978
Mark is the person who gets to his car after checkout at the store, realizes something didn't scan — it was less than a dollar — and yet, he walks back in to pay for it.
Nobody's watching. Nobody would have known.
He does it because it's right. Always.
That's how Garthism works. You'll hear honestly if we think we can help — or if we may not be the right fit for you.
Either way, it's zero risk.
Moving forward, same thing — if you don't feel like you're getting real value from your relationship with Garthism, you won't pay.
Integrity with conviction. Always.
Mark Shoe grew up without a safety net. Parents divorced young. On his own at seventeen. The only thing he ever had to count on completely was how his mind works — the clarity of it, the positivity of it, the absolute knowing that he can make things happen. He has proven it enough times, starting young enough, that doubt never really got a foothold.
“Mark, it is never a matter of IF — it is always just a matter of How. You must live your life that way.”
— Garthism • 1977He started his first business before he was old enough to drive — a paper route at 12 years old that became thirteen lawn mowing customers, found by knocking on the same doors where he delivered papers. Snow blowing followed to earn more money. Then construction work at 15, and all through high school, leading a painting crew of men in their twenties and thirties — writing estimates, running jobs.
He was 16.
He learned early what it meant to make yourself useful and serve others who had no obligation to let you. Thanks to the foundation of Garthism's principles.
After serving in the United States Navy, he built a pressure washing business from nothing — knocking on doors and walking into businesses, the same way he did as a 12-year-old kid. He then acquired a second operation in another state and grew both to nine trucks washing thousands of units a week. Two successful businesses. Two states. He sold them both while still in his early twenties, walked into a single contributing sales role, and became the number one salesperson his first month. Management within that year. Three decades of operating, owning, and turning around franchise auto dealerships followed — while simultaneously buying, rehabbing, and flipping properties, and starting and selling several more businesses across multiple industries.
The role never mattered — owner, operator, or manager responsible for specific numbers. The results improved every time. That is not a streak. That is a way of operating.
That is the foundation Garthism is built on. When you work with us, that experience and that orientation walk into your business. Not a consultant with a methodology. A team built on 82 principles that started with a grandfather and a seven-year-old boy in 1976 — and have never stopped working since.
No pitch. Just an honest look at your business — and straight talk about whether Garthism can help.
Applied to your first month if we move forward together
Zero risk. The $199 reserves your time with Garthism — and it tells us both that this conversation is worth taking seriously. If Garthism cannot genuinely help your organization, every dollar comes back to you. No conditions. No questions. We won't keep money we haven't earned. If we move forward together, it applies to your first month. Either way — you have nothing to lose.
You'll receive a Zoom link in your confirmation email immediately after booking.
Business advisory serving Grand Rapids, West Michigan, and beyond.
If you're not quite ready to book, or need clarification on something — reach out to our founder, Mark Shoe. Fill this out completely and Mark will read it personally. Only complete submissions will actually send, so please take a moment to fill it out in full.
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Mark will review this and be back in touch within one business day.