Case Study
Relax, It’s Handled
entrepreneurial excellence
The Challenge
Across the regional civic landscape, small associations and high-profile non-profits frequently hit a structural ceiling. Despite having influential volunteer boards and critical mandates, these organizations lacked the professional staff to provide the instant infrastructure necessary for daily operations and major milestone campaigns.
There was a distinct market failure in Birmingham and across Alabama: no firm existed that provided this highly specialized set of operational skills. Consequently, powerful volunteer boards were mired in the weeds of event logistics, wasting precious bandwidth debating the color of napkins for annual meetings rather than focusing on governance, fundraising, and aggressive advocacy. They had the social capital to shift the regional economy, but lacked the operational chassis to execute without burning out their leadership.
Our Approach
My Role:Co-Founder and Managing Partner
To solve this, I founded Relax, It’s Handled as a premier association management firm, entirely rebranding how institutions perceived non-profit service delivery. We structured the firm to provide high-leverage support, evenly dividing our revenue streams to maximize systemic impact.
Fifty percent of our business anchored ongoing association management for a diverse client base that spanned biotechnology, venture capital, and anti-poverty organizations. The remaining fifty percent focused on event and special projects management, ensuring that institutions met the mark during their most critical historical moments without succumbing to the overwhelming surge of programmatic needs.
Internally, we built a scalable, commercial model. We recruited young, hungry talent and deployed rigorous project management software to train them, guaranteeing replicable, consistent deliverables. By specializing exclusively as a professional services firm in this niche, our staff developed a profound depth of understanding. They cross-pollinated insights, taking tactical knowledge learned from a venture capital board and applying it directly to an anti-poverty initiative.
Association Management Portfolio:
Birmingham Venture Club (Venture Capital)
(Insert Biotech Client Name)
(Insert Anti-Poverty Client Name)
(Insert additional clients as needed)
Milestone Campaigns & Special Projects:
[Visual Artifact: Embedded Video / Screenshot] Magic Moments E-Campaign: Caption detailing the digital fundraising architecture and reach of this critical initiative.
[Visual Artifact: High-Resolution Event Photo] Alabama Media Group – 50th Commemoration of the Civil Rights Movement: Caption showcasing the massive scale, historical gravity, and executive coordination required to execute this regional milestone.
[Visual Artifact: Playbill or Tour Map Graphic] Red Mountain Theatre Company: Caption highlighting the operational logistics of managing the statewide tour for the dramatic interpretation of "Letter from Birmingham Jail."
Our Impact
The firm successfully transformed fragile boards into solvent, revenue-generating engines. Over eight years of operation, Relax, It’s Handled raised millions of dollars for its clients and rescued hundreds of inefficient, wasted volunteer hours, redirecting that energy back toward high-level policy.
The rigorous fiscal management and governance design ultimately proved the firm's commercial weight, earning Blue Ribbon Award recognition from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Ultimately, the successful sale of the company served as the definitive proof of its intrinsic market value and the enduring strength of the operational models we built.
$Millions Raised: Facilitated multi-million dollar revenue growth for client organizations across an eight-year operational lifespan.
100% Market Pioneer: The first firm in the Alabama market specifically designed to provide instant, professionalized infrastructure to specialized non-profit and corporate boards.
National Recognition: Earned the Blue Ribbon Award from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for business excellence.
On A Personal Note
Co-founding, growing, and selling Relax, It’s Handled was one of the most gratifying experiences of my professional life. I learned a lot about myself. Equally important, I learned how value is created and destroyed for the people I serve — past, present, and future.
Honestly,
Ed.