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About the Business Resilience Society

Meet the Guides

mike stoll

MIKE STOLL

Entrepreneur

Mike Stoll is a business strategist, professional trainer, and serial entrepreneur with more than 30 years of hands-on experience building, scaling, and rebuilding companies through disruption.


After leaving IBM in 1980, Mike founded TMC Computer Services. This field service company began in his basement and grew to become the #1 Third-Party Service provider for Wang Systems in Washington, DC, and New York City. Over 14 years, he built operations, teams, and systems that competed successfully against major industry players.
Following rapid technological disruption in the service industry, Mike pivoted into a new venture — The All-Star Agency Professional Speakers Bureau — which became a nationally recognized, award-winning firm providing professional speakers, celebrities, and entertainment for conferences across the U.S. and Canada.

The business thrived for 15 years before being severely impacted by the aftermath of September 11, 2001, when the events industry faced unprecedented shutdowns.
Throughout his career, Mike has facilitated seminars and workshops in 46 states, working directly with business owners and leadership teams on topics such as Field Service Management, Business Finance, Quality Systems, and Customer Experience. These decades of firsthand exposure to operational reality — success, failure, and adaptation — form the foundation of his work today.

Mike’s perspective is shaped not only by theory but also by lived experience navigating growth, disruption, reinvention, and resilience.

Today, Mike co-leads the Business Resilience Society, helping business owners build companies designed not just to grow — but to last.

sherrie szekalski

SHERRIE SZEKALSKI

Business Continuity Planning

Sherrie Szekalski has an accomplished history as the former Director of IT for Johns Hopkins Health Systems. A standout achievement in her career was her leadership of a pivotal 2-year project, overseeing the Y2K readiness initiative for the entire health system.

With a wealth of experience in the health care industry, Sherrie’s expertise shines particularly in disaster management and recovery. Her professional journey has made her an expert in Business Continuity Planning.

Notably, Sherrie has dedicated a significant portion of her career to not-for-profit organizations, exemplified by her tenure at Johns Hopkins. Her conscious choice to forego potentially more lucrative opportunities in larger corporate entities underscores her commitment to making a tangible impact on people’s lives within the realm of not-for-profit healthcare.

Hailing from a background of hard work, Sherrie’s parents – her mother a dedicated waitress for over three decades and her father a bar owner and real estate broker – have contributed to her profound understanding of what it takes for a small business to thrive in the complexities of the modern world. This foundation adds a unique perspective to her professional repertoire.

Today, Sherrie applies her enterprise-level continuity expertise to help business owners build companies that can withstand disruption and operate with confidence through uncertainty.

About the Business Resilience Society

Most businesses don’t fail in a single dramatic moment.
They erode.

Margins tighten. Leadership stretches thin. Systems strain under growth. What once worked no longer scales.

Over time, the business becomes more fragile — not because the owner lacks effort or intelligence, but because structural strength was never intentionally engineered.

The Business Resilience Society exists to change that trajectory.

We are an association of growth-minded business owners committed to building companies that are not only profitable but also durable—businesses designed to withstand disruption, leadership transition, economic volatility, and the natural pressures of growth.

Resilience is not defensive.
It is disciplined strength.

The Defining Question

Every business owner eventually faces a defining question:

Is this company built to survive pressure, or only to operate when conditions are favorable?

Longevity does not happen by accident. It is designed.

Our Vision

To reduce preventable business failure in America by cultivating a national community of resilient business leaders whose companies are built to last beyond a lifetime.

We envision a business culture where longevity is intentional, leadership is disciplined, and resilience is embedded in operations—not hastily hung together during a crisis.

Our Mission

To equip business owners with the structure, relationships, and strategic clarity required to:

• Strengthen leadership capacity

• Build durable operational systems

• Protect what matters most

• Navigate uncertainty with confidence

• Transition from operator to strategic CEO

• Design businesses that endure

We accomplish this through disciplined peer collaboration, structured frameworks, and practical implementation guidance.

Our Purpose

Business ownership is stewardship.

Companies support families. They create jobs. They anchor communities. They preserve opportunities across generations.

Our purpose is to help owners move from reactive survival to intentional longevity, so their businesses become stabilizing forces rather than fragile ventures.

Resilience enables growth to continue when conditions change.

Our Core Values

Clarity Before Expansion
Durable growth begins with clarity of vision, role, and direction.

Strength Over Speed
Long-term structural integrity outweighs short-term acceleration.

Shared Intelligence
Serious owners grow stronger together than alone.

Preparedness as Discipline
Resilience is built through planning, rehearsal, and foresight.

Ownership Mindset
We serve leaders who accept responsibility and are willing to evolve.

Longevity Thinking
Every significant decision is filtered through one question:
Will this strengthen the business five, ten, or twenty years from now?


Interested in our services? We’re here to help!

Join growth-minded owners building businesses designed to last.

Make My Business Stronger
Join Free as a Founding Member

One-time $25 registration fee applies