ASTRIA BUSINESS STORY
THE ASTRIA STORY BEGAN WITH AN IDEA IN THE STARS. YOURS CAN TOO.
Our dreams are as delicate, as ambitious, and as challenging as yours for your business. No part of this path was easy for Astria… except the actual client work. That’s the fun part. With our vast experience with business of all sizes, in all stages, in various industries and work in all capacities, from strict advising on margin strategy to project management execution for large events, in Grand Rapids, Wyoming, Chicago, Detroit, Muskegon, and beyond for retail grocery, quick service restaurants (QSR), B22, e-commerce, and more… we can help you form and execute your strategy, scale your operations, and grow responsibly.
A late night text was the simple beginning to building a business advising and consulting firm that seeks to help EVERYONE achieve their business results. After a combined 20+ years of experience in the business world, we made a choice to help small and mid-sized business owners get where they want to be, where they NEED to be, in order to not just survive, but thrive. We are entrepreneurs and business leaders just like YOU.
This text is how many small and mid-sized businesses begin. An ambitious idea, with endless potential. It takes a lot of smart work, a lot of hard work, and a little bit of Astria Business Group to get them going and keep them healthy. Let us help you reach as high as you want, even past the stars. We did it for us, we can do it for you.
The final Astria Advantage? Connection. Vic and Jesus are business partners to each other and to you.
But we were friends before Astria ever came to be. In fact, it is the personal bonds we make that can greatly influence your professional business ventures. Just read our story above and how a text between friends can change your trajectory.
Working with Astria Business Group means being partners in your growth and in ours. We’d love to be a part of your successful business story and help you reach higher and farther. No business does it alone. We need our business partners, loved ones, clients, customers, community, and ourselves to not just survive, but to thrive. Ready to thrive?
At the core of business differentiation is the concept of competitive advantage. A term familiar to most business owners but rarely assessed and communicated.
But we don’t gate-keep great business practice. In fact, it’s our pleasure to help small and mid-size businesses. That’s what Astria Business Group is all about.
THE ASTRIA ADVANTAGE:
BUSINESS SUPPORT OPTIONS
Strategy & Advising
Project Execution
Ongoing Support
Operations
Marketing
Accounting
Human Resources
BUSINESS COMPETENCY
15+ years combined experience
Small and Mid size business experience
Large organizations experience
Retail, QSR, CPG speciality
CULTURAL COMPETENCY
LATINO OWNED BUSINESS
LGBT+ OWNED BUSINESS
ASTRIA BUSINESS TEAM
VICTOR J RAMIREZ
CO-FOUNDER & PRINCIPAL ADVISOR
From optimizing pricing for year-over-year sales growth to implementing Jira for cross-department accountability and launching rewards programs in a multi-entity retail business, Victor is the operations and people-systems expert who turns messy workflows into scalable systems.
As a former C-Suite executive in retail and corporate experience at Meijer and major healthcare systems (Corewell Health, Trinity Health) Victor blends strategy, execution, and human-centered leadership to help businesses grow without breaking. He’s led vendor negotiations, built recruitment teams, designed organizational structures, implemented POS systems, and driven sustainability initiatives recognized at the state level.
Talk to him about your favorite soccer team (better be Arsenal) workout routine, or tv series.
JESUS AGUILAR-CUEVAS
CO-FOUNDER & PRINCIPAL ADVISOR
From helping McDonald’s Corporate in Chicago activate a regional communications campaign activation in Detroit to managing merchandising targeted promotional campaigns in the foods space at Meijer, generating millions in attributable sales, Jesus is the marketing and accounting expert who does data-first strategy.
From agencies to start-ups, to large corporate teams across retail, QSR, manufacturing, B2B, and beyond, Jesus brings a wealth of ambitious and practical business strategy that starts with data and always qualifies and quantifies project results. This discipline with data and figures comes from his background in tax accounting for small businesses as an IRS approved electronic originator from his private practice and experience working as a contracted tax advisor with Intuit/Turbo Tax.
Talk to him about your favorite pop star, coffee order, or classic slasher movies.