A Newsletter You'll Want To Subscribe To

This is the latest edition of the Bullet Proof Consulting newsletter. We publish a fresh one every two weeks (so far without fail). We try to make them not just interesting, but also useful for people who own or manage businesses of all kinds.

We get a lot of very good response to this, mostly because we are sharing valid insights and our readers really appreciate that.

If you like what you read here, and want to receive this newsletter regularly, just send us us an email (admin@bulletproofconsulting.ca) and say "Sign Me Up". We'll do the rest. I am also going to be re-publishing earlier newsletters here every week or so.

Planning For Growth From Wherever to Wherever

Back in another lifetime, I had a client who fired me. I’ve probably had a few, but this one sticks in my mind because of the reason he explained to me for his decision.

He said that the branding and marketing we were doing for him was making him uncomfortable because it was making him too successful.

Too successful? What do you mean by that, I asked him. He sort of mumbled something about not wanting to be doing what he was doing any more than he was doing it at that time.

It all sounded pretty lame, but, and I have found out since that

many are so, so like that. They carry the same amount of fear about being too successful and not being able to manage it, as they do about not being successful enough.

The Upside Is Bigger Than The Downside

Too much success means getting into, or at least contemplating the idea of things like adding staff, more expensive real estate, benefits programs etc. and then being responsible for them.

This kind of thinking is ultimately quite short-sighted. Because there are some things that most don’t often consider.

For example, you can expand your growth potential organically if you are willing to build a strong network that includes people you like and trust who do what you do or can provide you with the services you need without any worries about business poaching, (a lot more common than many think).

When you have a network like this in place, you have a lot more options at your disposal:

• You can broker their services

• You can make a two-way deal so that when they get busy, they farm stuff out to you if you’re not busy.

• You can even consider the idea of merging and creating a larger entity, which can open up new markets and make your business expansion both affordable and profitable.

But, at the end of the day, the one thing you simply can not live without is the commitment to grow your business. And this means losing the fear of growing too fast or having that growth be less profitable.

This is Right Up Our Alley

One of the things that Charlene is particularly good at is looking at a business and seeing not just where the growth potential exists, but also how to marshal your resources to actualize that growth potential in a timely and profitable way.

When we created Bullet Proof to service businesses outside the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) , we knew there would be a number of opportunities to work with smaller businesses as well as larger ones. And, believe it or not, in most, the mechanisms of branding and growing a business do not vary all that much between large and small organizations.

And what both the larger and smaller businesses have in common is the need for experienced allies to help them make the most of what they have, identify the ‘mores’ they are looking for and show them how to get there in a way that doesn't make them crazy or cost them a small fortune.

If you work with people whose mandate and attitude is all about bringing deep expertise and experience to your table and then making that affordable, all of a sudden, the idea of growing your business doesn’t seem like such a daunting task.

This post is all about one simple idea: When you have a strong network and the right allies in your corner thinking and working on your business, together you can achieve, and in many cases surpass, any goals and plans you think you have.

It’s a powerful idea, isn't it?

Two Parting Thoughts

“Growth is never by mere chance; it is the result of forces working together.”

James Cash Penney

“A passive approach to professional growth will leave you by the wayside.”

Tom Peters