About
Thirty years on the shop floor, one lesson.
What keeps a business going is neither the product nor the price. It is trust, and the people who know how to earn it.
I · 1996–2003
Learning to sell
IT consultant, then key account manager. I sell IBM solutions to banks and multinationals. I learn that large clients do not buy a machine: they buy someone they trust.
You don't sell a product, you sell trust.
II · 2003–2006
Failing, the first time
I start my first IT company. The potential is there, the strategy is not, and I am on my own. It closes after three years. The most expensive school, and the most useful.
Effort is no substitute for strategy.
III · 2006–2023
Running stores
Regional manager for a major Swiss retailer: up to five stores, forty staff and 30 to 35 million francs in revenue. My teams stay ten to twelve years on average. Nobody leaves before I do.
A leader succeeds through his teams.
IV · Alongside
Building, again
I start an eco-friendly dry cleaner in Lausanne in 2018. I found an IT services company, which I sell at the end of 2023. I design a space of 32 workshops for craftspeople and run a young medical-device company. Some projects succeed, others teach me.
Create, and know when to step out.
V · Since 2023
Turning a store around
I take over the showroom of a premium brand that has never been profitable. Six months later, it is making money. In less than three years, its revenue has grown almost fourfold.
It all starts with the welcome.
Today
Passing it on.
A certified adult trainer, I have trained sales teams and partners for years. gouti.ch brings together what thirty years have taught me, for those who run a store.
I also write, to see more clearly: about authority, limits and freedom. Because you can only lead well what you have first understood.
Let's start by looking at your store as it really is.
A first 20-minute conversation, with no commitment, to see whether the diagnostic makes sense for you.