One of my early startup clients had good success selling software to boutique retailers in Eastern Canada. They had an excellent product and earned incredible customer loyalty. To expand, they planned to sell to a wider range of retailers, such as hardware stores, convenience stores and so on. The whole team was gearing up for the sales push.
Having seen this movie before, I asked some questions. How would they support these different customers? What additional features would they request? What pricing and margins could they secure? And how would they compete against the established, low-cost players already serving these markets?
Expanding into other types of retailers could work. But was it the best idea?
Instead, we pulled back from expanding the customer type and focused on serving boutique retailers worldwide. It proved to be a good decision. The company continued to grow and today generates $1.7B in revenue, with a market cap of approximately $2B.
Sometimes it takes an outsider to challenge a good idea and help turn it into a great one.
Running a successful business can put CEOs in a difficult position. The more successful they become, the less likely people are to challenge their thinking.
Think about it. Your employees depend on you for their livelihoods. Your management team may have helped develop the strategy you're now questioning. Your suppliers want to keep your business. And your friends and family probably don't understand enough about your business to offer much useful advice.
So, who's going to tell you that your brilliant new idea might not be so brilliant?
But here's another question: Who's going to help you turn a pretty good idea into a really great one?
I think this is where the real value of outside advisors lies. Most successful CEOs are pretty smart people. They've built businesses, overcome obstacles, taken risks and made thousands of decisions. They don't need someone to tell them how to run their company.
But there's a catch. They've generally accumulated their experience in one company, or perhaps a handful of companies, often in the same industry.
An experienced Business Advisor may have worked with dozens of companies across multiple industries, helping them tackle all sorts of challenges. Different markets. Different business models. Different competitive environments. Different approaches to solving problems.
And, importantly, different outcomes.
They've seen things you haven't. And you've seen things they haven't. That's what makes the combination so powerful.
Think of it as having a bigger toolkit.
You may be an excellent carpenter, but if all you've got is a hammer, everything starts looking like a nail.
An experienced advisor might bring a whole workshop. Frameworks for understanding markets, models for evaluating growth opportunities, experience with pricing strategies, acquisitions, competitive positioning and scaling businesses. And examples of things that worked brilliantly elsewhere — or failed spectacularly.
Not all of these will apply to your business. But some might.
And sometimes an idea borrowed from a completely different industry can be the breakthrough you've been looking for.
That's the difference between getting another opinion and getting a whole new perspective.
Of course, there's another side to this. The best advisors aren't afraid to challenge you.
They'll ask why you're entering a particular market. Whether you've really understood your customers. What your competitors might do. Will your current org chart survive the expansion. Or whether that acquisition you're so excited about actually makes sense.
Sometimes they'll tell you that you're wrong.
And that's valuable too.
Consider the economics. If an advisor helps you avoid a $500,000 mistake, how much was that advice worth?
But what if, instead, they help you turn a $500,000 opportunity into a $2M one?
Which contribution would you value more?
In my experience, the best advisory relationships do both. They help CEOs avoid expensive mistakes while identifying opportunities they might otherwise have missed.
And there's another important point: Getting advice doesn't mean giving up control.
An advisor doesn't run your business. You do.
And I know what some of you are thinking: how much is this going to cost me? Am I creating another layer of bureaucracy? Do I really need someone sitting in on meetings, telling me how to run the business I've spent years building?
Fair questions.
But engaging a Business Advisor doesn't mean hiring another executive, creating an advisory board or giving someone a vote in how you run your company.
It can be as simple as having an experienced outsider who understands your business, challenges your thinking and brings new ideas to the table.
Someone you can turn to when you're wrestling with a difficult decision or exploring a significant opportunity.
And yes, good advice costs money. But if you're running a business, you know that the cheapest option isn't necessarily the best value. The question isn't what advice costs. It's what it can help you achieve.
An advisor who understands your business, your ambitions, your markets and your challenges can contribute far more than someone who drops in occasionally to offer an opinion.
Over the years, I've worked as a Business Advisor with companies ranging from bootstrapped startups to businesses generating hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue. I typically schedule a meeting with them one or two times a month and remain available for ad-hoc support whenever its needed. I've helped them tackle challenges, explore opportunities, develop strategies and make better decisions. And, importantly,
I've helped create real, bankable value along the way.
Sometimes that means challenging an assumption. Sometimes it's introducing an idea or approach they hadn't considered. And sometimes it's simply helping turn a good idea into a great one.
After all, as my colleague Graham says, it's hard to read the label when you're inside the bottle.
So, who's in your corner?
If you've got an important decision coming up, a business challenge you're wrestling with, or an opportunity you think could be bigger, perhaps we should talk.
I'll bring my experience and a fresh perspective. You bring the challenge. Together, we'll explore whether there's an opportunity to create some real value.
After all, if I can't help you create significant value, what's the point?
So here's my challenge to you: Think of one important business issue that could benefit from a fresh perspective.
Got one? Hit REPLY, tell me what it is, and let's find a time to talk about it.
I'm looking forward to it!
Andrew
/kcl-goes-green/HeaderLogo-60x300-ID-e065fb7a-094d-4fc6-d8c1-f4f88e7523f5.png)