Schema Consulting
Services for families.
You don't have to have it all figured out before you reach out. Most families don't. That's exactly what this work is for.
Where to begin
Every family is navigating something. The question is what kind of help actually fits.
Schema works with family businesses, family enterprises, and family offices at the moments where the family and the business become inextricably linked — and the usual tools stop being enough.
That might be a succession that keeps stalling. A conflict that's corroding the business from the inside. A transition nobody knows how to start, or a set of decisions that can't get made because the relational layer keeps getting in the way. Or it might just be a single question you need to think through with someone who understands both sides of the equation.
The services below range from a single hour to a multi-year engagement. They're not a ladder you climb — they're different tools for different moments. The right starting point depends on what you're carrying and how ready the family is to work on it together.
Primary services
Three front doors. Each one a complete offering on its own.
These are the core engagements — the ones most families move through, in some form, at some point. They're designed to stand alone or connect into each other, depending on what the situation actually warrants.
One hour · Virtual or in person
Individual Consultation
A focused, one-on-one working session for the thing that's on your mind right now. No group to assemble, no long commitment. You bring the question — a decision to pressure-test, a conversation to plan, a dynamic you're trying to make sense of. A professional sounding board with someone who understands family enterprise from both sides.
Learn more →Two days · In person · Seattle
The Family Intensive
A two-day, in-person deep dive that takes a high-stakes, high-feeling situation and turns it into something you can see, talk about, and move on — fast.
- Day one: Individual interviews with each participant — separately, privately, in their own words.
- Day two: Joint synthesis session — shared diagnostic, mapping the dynamics, and a working action plan built together in the room.
- After: A written roadmap covering findings, assignments, key decisions, and next steps. Something you can actually run.
Multi-phase · Custom-scoped
Extended Engagements
For families navigating a major transition, a multi-year succession process, or a situation where the family system and the business system are both in play at the same time. Discovery, strategic vision, roadmapping, and coaching the implementation over time. Every engagement is designed from scratch. No two are structured the same way.
Learn more →A word on fit
Schema isn't the right fit for every family. Here's how to know.
This work sits at the intersection of family systems and business strategy. I'm not a practicing therapist, and this isn't therapy. I'm not a financial advisor, an estate planner, or an attorney — and I don't replace any of them. What I do is create the structure and the relational container that makes all of those conversations actually possible, and actually stick.
The families who get the most from this work are the ones who know something is off — in the business, in the family, or both — and who are ready to look at it clearly, even when that's uncomfortable.
So if you're opposed to having your thinking challenged or reframed, I'm probably not your fit. And if what you're looking for is an audience while you make the case against everyone else in the family — or someone to sign off on a plan where everyone has to change but you — that's a hard pass.
This work goes somewhere because everyone in the room is in it, including you.
I don't try to change who people are. I help people show up as they are — in the best versions of themselves — and learn to work in concert rather than in conflict. The goal isn't fewer hard conversations. It's hard conversations that actually go somewhere.
Additional offerings
Beyond the core engagements.
For families who need something more specific — a single event, a structured learning experience, or whole-family education that meets people where they are — the following formats are available. Some are built for a single family; others are open-enrollment experiences you can attend alongside families navigating similar terrain.
Designed for your family
Family Retreat Design & Facilitation
A custom-designed retreat experience — anything from educational content delivered to your family, to immersive facilitated activities, to structured working sessions around a specific agenda (drafting a family constitution, aligning on a succession vision, beginning a governance conversation). Scope and format designed together. Can be hosted anywhere.
Page coming soon
Single-family or open-enrollment
Family Workshops
Structured, topic-specific workshops designed for families working on a particular challenge or skill set. Some are designed exclusively for a single family and run privately. Others are open-enrollment — you attend alongside other families navigating similar terrain. Partial family attendance is fine for most formats; full-family participation is ideal for others.
Page coming soon
Multi-generational · Large groups welcome
Whole-Family Education & Training
Educational sessions designed for families working across two or more generations — ideal for annual meetings, next-gen programming, family retreats, or getting large families (50+ people) aligned around shared values, history, and direction. Focused on building shared language and understanding, not resolving specific conflicts.
Page coming soon
For the advisors in the room
Services for Advisors
Schema also works directly with the wealth managers, estate planners, trust officers, and CPAs who serve family enterprises — through case-work consultations, advisory team training, and family-systems intake on behalf of your practice. Your clients stay your clients.
Learn more →Not sure where to start?
Three common starting points.
Most families arrive at Schema through one of three doors. None of them is the "right" one — they just reflect different moments, different readiness levels, and different sizes of what needs to be addressed.
You're not sure what you need
Start with a free 30-minute call.
We'll talk through your situation, figure out what's actually going on, and identify what kind of help makes the most sense. No pressure, no commitment. If we're a fit, you'll know. If we're not, I'll point you somewhere useful.
You want to think it through first — alone
Start with an Individual Consultation.
An hour with just you — before anyone else is in the room. Good for people who want a clearer picture of their own situation before deciding whether to bring in the family, and how.
You know the family needs to be in the room
Start with the Intensive.
Two days, in person, with the right people in the room. A diagnostic, a joint synthesis, and a written roadmap. The Intensive is also the standard opening move for any longer engagement — it compresses the early discovery work into a high-traction format and makes everything that follows faster and cleaner.
Let's see if we're a fit.
A free 30-minute call is the right place to start. You'll leave with clarity on what makes sense for your family — and whether now is the right time.
Book a Free 30-Minute CallVersion: June 2026. Schema Consulting, LLC operates the practice known as "Schema." This page is an orientation to available services and is not legal, financial, tax, or clinical advice. It does not create a client relationship; the terms of any engagement are governed by a separate written agreement, which controls. Schema Consulting is not therapy, counseling, or medical services. For clinical needs, please consult a licensed mental health professional.