Her Business to New Elevations
CEO, Alliant Consulting
2023 Vistage Member Excellence Award Winner
Her Business to New Elevations
Christa Schott knows how to make a dream take flight. At 22, just barely out of college, she quit two unsatisfying jobs (on the same day, no less). With no idea what to do next, she called her dad, a former electrician who built a general construction company, and asked to meet for coffee and advice.
While waiting, Schott read an article about a new labor compliance law in California. Plenty of work would need to be done by outside contractors, but no businesses existed to fill the gap.
By the time her dad arrived, Schott knew that she wanted to start a labor compliance business.
“What’s that?” she recalls her dad asking.
“I have absolutely no idea,” Schott responded, “but I know I’m going to do it.”
Schott wrote a business plan, borrowed $5,000 from her dad, and, for the first time, defined herself as a business owner. Six months later, she was fully invested in the San Diego-based Alliant Consulting, where she continues to serve as its founder and CEO 22 years later.
Business started off tough for Schott as she struggled to secure contracts. Despite working 20-hour days, doubts surfaced until she landed her first contract.
For years, Alliant flourished, allowing Schott to reconnect with a long-lost passion: flying. Inspired by her grandfather, a pilot who would take her up in his propeller plane every Sunday, Schott earned her pilot’s license in 2006 so that she could take him on one last flight before he passed away a month later.
“It was the opportunity to fulfill one of his final wishes, but it completely inspired me to get back up in the air,” Schott says.
Things were going well for Schott until 2017, when a lawsuit threatened her company. At times, she thought she might lose what she’d built, but she ultimately won the suit and emerged more determined to face future challenges.
As part of her plan, Schott joined Vistage in 2021 after learning about it from her husband, Michael, himself a member. Watching him return from each group meeting excited and inspired by his peers piqued her interest.
In her first meeting, Schott told her group about potential new growth opportunities. She wanted to take the company national, she told them.
“I approached Vistage members in my first group session and said, ‘This is my dream. This is what I want to do. I know we can do the work. How do we just get there?’” Schott says.
The group examined Alliant’s financial statements and organizational chart. They told her for this kind of growth she needed structure, new departments and a solid business plan. She’d also have to delegate.
Schott’s Vistage peers suggested she start by working on employee retention. Due to low pay and uncertainty, her firm had a revolving door of staff, so the group recommended she increase wages first. Next, Schott built a defined organizational chart and wrote a business plan focused on growth.
“They challenged me,” Schott says. “I had never seen an org chart before that. I didn’t know what that looked like.”
MY GROUP TRULY HAS AWAKENED A GREATNESS IN ME, INSPIRED ME AND EMPOWERED ME TO TAKE ON THE WORLD. … BUSINESS IS DEFINITELY SOARING RIGHT NOW.
CHRISTA SCHOTT
MY GROUP TRULY HAS AWAKENED A GREATNESS IN ME, INSPIRED ME AND EMPOWERED ME TO TAKE ON THE WORLD. … BUSINESS IS DEFINITELY SOARING RIGHT NOW.
CHRISTA SCHOTT
Schott quickly offered employees a 10% raise, delegated tasks and hired an HR rep and a billing director. She also enrolled her high-potential managers in Vistage Emerging Leader programs to help them develop into the next generation of senior leaders.
In her first year at Vistage, Alliant Consulting grew 100% from the previous year. In 2024, her firm grew 200% from the previous year, and turnover dropped to 1%. All told, Schott’s company is now five times bigger than it was before she joined Vistage, growing to $35 million and securing contracts both across the U.S. and internationally.
“The growth over the last four years has been exponential,” Schott says. “Sometimes I feel like I’m building the car as we’re flying down the road at 200 miles per hour.”
Schott attributes Alliant’s growth to feedback from Chair Jim Heaton and her Vistage peer group. By delegating more responsibilities, she has empowered her leaders to make decisions and has given herself more capacity. Now with over 100 employees and plans to hire more, she feels increasingly confident and capable as a CEO and owner, supported by her Chair and group.
“Before Vistage, I didn’t trust myself as a business owner, and I didn’t even know it,” Schott says. “My group truly has awakened a greatness in me, inspired me, and empowered me to take on the world. … Business is definitely soaring right now.”
With Jim Heaton, Schott’s Vistage Chair
Before Vistage, an organization told Christa she wasn’t equipped to grow her business. I played for her a Jim Collins talk, in which he says, “Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t take your business to the next level.” Our group agreed fully — she’s got this. Now she’s far more confident in her abilities as a CEO.
An outsourced CFO gave Christa a five-year forecast showing she’d have the same net profit after growing. She and I found big errors in their numbers. Now she understands her finances better than ever, and her business has grown massively.
Christa’s biggest challenge was finding middle managers. Now she has placed employees in Vistage Key Executive and Emerging Leader groups to develop managers. She understands that without middle management, she couldn’t grow the way she wanted.
