Interim Executive & Business Strategist

What if a handful of small changes could lift your profit by more than half?

That is the arithmetic almost no owner sits down and runs. I'm John North, an interim executive and business strategist who finds those changes in a business like yours.

Most advisers hand you a report and leave. I stay and do the work.

+5% −5% −5%= 61%more profit

Twenty minutes, no charge, and no pitch.

Serial entrepreneur and Professional National Accountant. 35 years responsible for the bottom line. Sydney, remote-first.

John North

About me

John North

I am a serial entrepreneur and Professional National Accountant, based in Sydney, and the founder of Evolve Systems Group. Over 35 years I have built and run businesses across software and publishing, and I am a nine-time number-one bestselling author on Amazon, USA Today and the Wall Street Journal.

Most of my recent work has been building software and publishing from the ground up. That includes Evolvepreneur.app, an all-in-one platform for coaches, authors and small business that I have built and run over nine years, and EvolvepreneurIQ, a 70-module system I architected with more than 3,000 hours of AI-assisted development. My background runs across finance, marketing and software, so I tend to read a business from several angles at once. The useful part for you is that I have been the one accountable for whether the business made money, in good years and hard ones. That is the view I bring to yours.

#20→#2
Worldwide for an international software business, in three years
$25M+
In sales generated for my businesses and clients
70
Module business platform built with 3,000+ hours of AI
150+
Books published, print and digital
3,500+
Bestseller campaigns run for client authors
9×
Number one bestsellers on Amazon, USA Today, WSJ
P&L ownershipSaaS commercialisationAI-assisted developmentTurnaround & channelRecurring-revenue modelsTeam leadership

Professional National Accountant, member of the Institute of Public Accountants since 1990. Independently assessed at Level 5 Executive, in the top 2% of managers (2006).

What I do

How I step in

Which one fits depends on where your business is. We can work that out on the first call.

Interim executive

Cover for a gap or a stretch that needs a steady hand. General management or finance leadership, full-time for a set period, with a clear brief and an exit planned from the start.

Strategy & growth

A clear read on where the profit and growth actually sit, and a plan you can act on. Pricing, revenue model, what to back and what to drop, from someone who has run the businesses, not just advised on them.

Finance leadership

Your numbers get proper attention without a full-time salary. Cashflow, budgeting, reporting, and the financial side of the decisions you are weighing up. One or two days a week from someone who has run businesses, not only audited them.

Turnaround & recurring revenue

For a business that has drifted, or one that needs to change how it earns. I have rebuilt sales channels and moved companies onto subscription income before, so I tend to find where the real problem sits quickly.

The profit system

Three changes of 5% can lift profit by 61%

That is not a typo. And no, it is not fifteen percent.

+5%
+
-5%
+
-5%
=
61%
more profit

Most owners look for one big win. The quicker path is a small number of changes, none of them bigger than five percent, made in the right places and the right order so they compound on the bottom line instead of adding up in a straight line. Finding those places in your business, and putting the changes to work, is the system I run. The reverse is just as true, which is how good businesses quietly leak profit for years without ever seeing it.

See it on your numbers

Working with AI

Bringing AI into your business, without the guesswork

I have spent thousands of hours building real software with AI, including a 70-module business platform. That means I can tell where it earns its place in a business from where it is a distraction.

Find the few that payWe pick a small number of tasks where AI saves real time or money, prove it works, then move to the next one. No rip and replace, and nothing you cannot explain to your team.
A lever, not a science projectUsed well, AI is now one of the fastest ways to move the levers in the profit system above. That is the whole point of bothering with it.

For recruiters and interim agencies

Easy to place, quick to onboard

If you place interim and contract executives, I am on the market now. Remote-first from Sydney, available around three days a week or full-time for a fixed period, with a clear brief and a defined exit. I have run businesses myself, so I step in, do the work, report in plain language, and hand back cleanly when the job is done.

Best fit for interim CFO, general management, transformation and turnaround briefs across small and medium businesses. Full profile, day rate and references on request.

Add me to your bench

In their words

What people who have worked with me say

See all on LinkedIn →
“

John North is smart, hard working, current, ethical, insightful and results-driven. Highly recommended.

Frank Genovesi
Founder & CEO, Intellisolve
“

A rare combination of strategic thinker, hands-on practitioner and generous educator. He turns thirty years across business, finance and marketing into clear, practical frameworks that drive real leads and revenue, not vanity metrics.

Andrew Squillari
Financial professional
“

John helped build my online business, and he knows how to take a business to the next level of success. Highly recommended.

Barbara “Boo” Watson
Business Transformation & Change Lead
“

John is an absolute expert, and a lovely person too. He helped bring my book to life and I am very happy with the outcome. Highly recommended.

Scott Capelin
Founder, inLIFE Wellness
“

John knows his stuff. As a debut author I was struggling with how to get real results, and his service simply fitted the bill.

John Attridge
Author
“

The support and expertise from John made my dream a reality. He managed me through every stage with real ease, one entrepreneur to another.

Greg Larsen
Business Advisor & Author

Before you call

You might be thinking

“I can't justify a full-time CFO.”

You are not hiring one. Fractional means a day or two a week for a fraction of the cost. A full-time finance chief in Australia runs well past $200,000 a year. This is a slice of that, for the part that actually moves your profit.

“Will a part-timer really understand my business?”

I have run businesses, not only audited them, so I get up to speed fast and go where the numbers point. And I do the work rather than hand you a report and leave.

“What is it going to cost?”

We agree a fixed monthly fee after the first call, once I have seen what you actually need. No billing by the hour, and no surprises.

“Am I locked in?”

No. Month to month. You stop the day the job is done.

Get in touch

Tell me what is going on

Book a short call, or send an enquiry and I will come back to you. Either way, there is no charge for the first conversation.

John North · Interim Executive & Business Strategist · Sydney