Blue Collar Consult
Your beacon for business success
Blue Collar Consult
Your beacon for business success
About
Mission
At Blue Collar Consult, we empower business owners with the experience, data, and resources required to improve performance and navigate challenges. Our mission is to save businesses and save jobs. Especially blue collar jobs that strengthen America's economy and manufacturing output.
Expertise
We specialize in management, turnaround, restructuring, and insolvency consulting. With over 20 years of experience, we are dedicated to providing services designed to help your business improve performance, navigate crises, and manage financial underperformance. We help businesses find their footing and thrive again or assist in developing the best fit exit strategy.
Services
Management Consulting
- Business Strategy: planning, formation, and growth strategy
- Financial Planning & Analysis: creating budgets, forecasts, and analyzing financial performance against plans
- Management Reporting: identification of the key performance indicators/drivers
- Leadership: identification of key management and coaching
- Change Management: succession planning, transition/interim management, mergers and acquisitions
Turnaround Consulting
- Liquidity Management: cash triage, working capital improvements, vendor management, collections strategy, and lender negotiations
- Cash Flow: management and forecasting, including traditional thirteen-week cash flow
- Cost/Pricing Reset: comprehensive review of customer pricing/quoting and costs to identify immediate opportunities
- Operational Fixes: workflow, labor efficiency, production bottlenecks or supply chain problem improvements
- Interim Management: experienced interim management
Restructuring Consulting
- Financial Restructuring: debt restructuring, refinancing, or negotiating with lenders to achieve a sustainable capital structure
- Distressed M&A: sale of distressed business units or the entire company to maximize value
- Business Plan & Forecast Assessment: developing and evaluating business plans, forecasts, and strategic alternatives
- Stakeholder Management: communicating and negotiating with lenders, creditors, and other stakeholders to build support and confidence
Insolvency Consulting
- Bankruptcy Advisory: pre-filing planning, process guidance, and reporting
- Financial Advisory: forecasting, schedules, operating reports
- Process Guidance: guiding the debtor through every stage of a Chapter 11 reorganization, Subchapter V, Chapter 7 liquidation or alternatives
- Creditor Support: advising stakeholders, banks, and creditors to help maximize recovery during an insolvency proceeding
Team
Michael Dudek, CIRA, CTP
Managing Partner, Blue Collar Consult
Michael Dudek is a seasoned business operator, restructuring and insolvency advisor, and lender with a "roll your sleeves up" motto. Over his career, he has successfully operated several businesses, advised on matters involving business strategy, performance improvement, exit and transition planning, financial restructurings, insolvency, wind down planning, buy/sell side diligence, asset/stock sales, capital raises, refinancing, business unit carve outs, and recovery analysis.
Mike combines decades of professional advisory expertise and operational success. He is quick to identify the key drivers and best fit leaders of a business. Mike develops and executes proven strategies that enhance value and deliver results in difficult situations.
Previous Experience
Before founding Blue Collar Consult in 2025, Mike served as Senior Vice President at Big Shoulders Capital, a family office focused on investments in underperforming middle market companies. He was responsible for acquisition sourcing, diligence, and operations management. Mike successfully operated several acquisitions. He also directed financing arrangements, wind down and sale advisory, and liquidation services through the affiliated entity PPL Group.
Prior to joining Big Shoulders Capital in 2023, Mike spent over 15 years as a Managing Director at High Ridge Partners, a financial advisory firm specializing in turnaround, restructuring, and insolvency services for middle market clients. At High Ridge, he regularly advised business owners, lenders, and other stakeholders while also serving in interim management roles.
Earlier in his career, Mike worked at LaSalle National Bank (ABN-AMRO) within the Asset-Based Large Syndications and Restructuring Group. Mike excelled in loan underwriting, financial forecasting, collateral analysis, and managed a commercial lending portfolio. His experience included a role in the Financial Restructuring and Recovery Group, where he gained valuable insight into the restructuring and recovery of underperforming loans.
Education & Professional Affiliations
Mike received his Bachelor of Science in Finance with Honors from the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois. He is a proud Chick Evans Scholar alumnus.
Mike is a member of the Secured Finance Network (SFNet), Turnaround Management Association (TMA) and the Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors (AIRA). He is a Certified Insolvency and Restructuring Advisor (CIRA) and a Certified Turnaround Professional (CTP). Mike has served in various officer and chair positions.