The Story of Chattanooga Vacation Rentals
Chattanooga Vacation Rentals (CVR) was founded by Christian “Thor” Thoreson, with the help of Christina Holmes Thoreson, after owning vacation rental properties in 2004. CVR started with two personally owned properties and no employees. In early 2014, an owner came to the Thoreson's and asked if they would manage their property for them, from there CVR was born.
Over the years, CVR has grown to be the largest and most professional vacation rental company in Chattanooga, TN. They represent many “businesses” rolled into one – hospitality, property management, maintenance, housekeeping, laundry, marketing, sales/reservations, customer service, and accounting. From day one, CVR has been committed to providing superior service to guests and owners, and intentionally surpasses industry trends and standards. CVR’s creativity and innovation helped spur its rapid growth.
“We ran our business for five years with the Visionary Thor being boots on the ground every day. The business thrived and grew to the point of disorganization. We then adopted EOS® (in 2019) and self-ran the Level 10 Meeting (L10) every week. It became a little more organized, but we were still lacking. We needed to shift gears and bring in someone to help us focus on the next thing that would move us the furthest forward.” -Thor and Christina Thoreson
Although the Thoreson's had adopted EOS (the Entrepreneurial Operating System®) and had a great EOS Implementer®, Sharon Keefe, they were still caught up in the weeds of the business, which bogged them down with day-to-day tasks. They were not seeing traction in the business. The business struggled with clear organization and accountability and needed a more comprehensive plan to keep them laser focused. These gaps are what ultimately pushed the Thoreson's to reach out to Catalyst Integrators™.
“Enter Catalyst Integrators and welcome Lisa McCurdy! We hired a ‘Fractional Integrator’. It was exactly what we needed to become more organized, be held accountable, and stay laser-focused. As a result, our business leaped forward. Lisa McCurdy is a rock star when it comes to being an Integrator. In a surprise twist, we decided to sell the business.” -Thor and Christina Thoreson
Why a Fractional Integrator?
When we first met with the Thoreson's, they were not living their ideal lives. The business was running them. They had a future vision of growth, but they felt stuck. They wanted to move towards more time off and a self-managing company. They wanted to be in a place where they could pursue their passions. They realized to do these things they needed help filling the gaps in the business. They needed someone who could help elevate the business, taking it to the next level. They first looked within the business to see if they had a team member who could do this, but no one had the experience they needed. They realized they needed to bring in someone who had been there before and understood the challenges of a rapidly growing company. They realized they needed Catalyst Integrators™.
Hello Organization
Although CVR had been running L10s for almost two years when Lisa joined the team, they were not run effectively. The meetings lacked organization, IDS (Identifying, Discussing, and Solving Issues) was not happening well, and both Rocks and To-Dos were not getting completed in a timely manner. Within the first month of working with Lisa, CVR’s L10s got on track. IDS started happening effectively and both Rocks and To-Dos were back on track.
Accountability to the Rescue
One of the biggest issues CVR faced was a lack of accountability. Lisa was able to come in and help clarify roles and responsibilities. She was then able to hold their team members accountable, and the difference was noticeable!! CVR was able to identify and elevate a key team member to take over some of Thor’s responsibilities, which allowed him to pull out of the day-to-day tasks. Thor was able to start working “ON” the business rather than always being stuck working “IN” the business.
A Clear V/TO = Laser Focus
Another way that Lisa was able to help CVR get laser-focused, was by clarifying their V/TO (Vision/Traction Organizer) and Rocks (90-day goals). Similar to the founders, the team was getting bogged down by day-to-day tasks and forgetting the big picture. To-Dos were not getting completed and Rocks were at a standstill. Lisa was able to come in and realign the team with a V/TO refresher which gave them a clear focus on the company’s Vision. With the Vision shared by all and Rocks clarified, CVR became unstoppable. TA-DA!! CVR started to see traction in the business.
Results Summary
As the Thoreson’s started to feel the business moving forward, they were met with multiple amazing offers to sell the business. They accepted an offer and are now enjoying the fruits of all their labor and living their ideal lives.
If you feel like you can’t gain traction in your business, are struggling with organization, or have a team that is lacking accountability and focus, look no further. Working with a Catalyst Integrator is what you need.
A Fractional Integrator is an experienced Integrator, Second in Command, and Chief Operating Officer (COO), that comes into an organization and helps it to grow and scale in a “fraction” of the time. It puts next-level talent within budget and reach.
“We credit a big part of the sale of our business and the amount of money being paid for it to Lisa McCurdy’s organizational skills that got it to where it was ready to sell (even though this was not our original goal). Plus, Lisa McCurdy is an awesome person and fun to work with. She cares deeply about the people with whom she works, even when that is remote. Her character, hard work, consistency, dependability, and thoughtfulness ring true with all she did with us. We would hire Catalyst and Lisa again in a heartbeat, 10/10.”