Achieve What Matters Most To You:
Results
Wynford Group
Stronger Profitability & Stronger Culture
Deb Niven, Co-CEO
“Our business was doing around 35M in sales, and we had a crazy goal (and one we were afraid of) to grow that to 70M. Long story, short, with Warren’s coaching we hit that number. His advice, leadership, mentorship, humour, authenticity, and ability to understand my challenges helped me immeasurably in growing from my then Co-Vice President Status to Co-President and Majority Shareholder to Co- CEO and Full Ownership of our business today. Warren’s leadership has not only been a huge “wind-beneath-my-wings” but he has managed to take my naysayer partner and transform him into the guy who says… “Let’s book a session with Warren, we need to do some growing and make some changes to our business!”
By not putting profitability or culture on the back burner, Deb now enjoys more revenue than ever, and a team who loves what they do.
Wynford is respected as one of the leaders in Canada in large scale corporate events and incentive travel programs. However, they found themselves stuck at about $35 million in revenue. In addition, most initiatives and quality control were driven by the 2 leaders who didn’t have full confidence in understanding the financial performance of the business.
Deb’s Co-CEO was originally skeptical about bringing in a coach and believed working on culture was a waste of time. (His language was slightly more colourful than that).
However, after some cajoling, they took on the challenge. Deb dug into the numbers. They drove cultural change and elevated the standards. And they strategically targeted process improvements.
Results
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Initially, through improvements in processes and through a deeper understanding of their numbers, they increased profitability without increasing sales.
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Subsequently, they were able to grow revenue to over $75 million. But most importantly, with the work on culture, they have been named Best Place To Work in their category.
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Deb’s co-CEO, who once thought working on culture was a waste of time now says “Culture… It’s everything.”
ITS Dispatch
More Growth & More Freedom
Raye Ackerman, Founder
“As an entrepreneur, I’m used to doing my own thing which for the most part is ok. It’s not ok when I’m unfocused, unmotivated or uninspired by my business. I know that Warren is a coach but I’m beginning to look at him more as a close senior partner in my business that honestly opens my mind to looking at details on another level. I wish I had done this years ago”
Streamlining his business, maximizing profitability, and putting the right team in place allowed Raye to continue pursing more of his dream entrepreneurial ventures.
Raye came to Warren with an interesting conundrum. He had a high value product that solved clear pains for a distinct and under-served market niche. However, growth was less than stellar, the team was underperforming and the financial situation didn’t leave him with a lot of room to manoeuvre.
Together we mapped out a series of operational strategic plans. To his great credit, Raye was a model of personal accountability, ensuring plans were implemented.
In short order, his sales team improved their performance and his control over his margins and cash flows did a 180. But, what was the true turning point was the transformation of his culture from one where people merely fulfilled tasks to one where people embraced and protected their values.
Results
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Everything no longer fell squarely on his shoulders. Soon, team members were stepping up and taking ownership. He had other leaders he could rely on to get things done.
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This resulted in much smoother operational systems, consistent growth, and growing profits.
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This transformation caught the eye of a large player in his industry that made a “too good to refuse” offer to buy the business.
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After the sale, Raye and his wife realized a dream and started a foundation supporting youth education. Not one to sit still, Raye has gone on to pursue other entrepreneurial ventures.
Whitby Shores Landscaping
More Work & More Time
Andrew Markew, CEO
“While I had the drive to hustle hard, I didn’t have the skills to hustle smart. Warren brought to me and my company the expertise that’s driven our success. As a coach, mentor and role model, his combination of fierce commitment to values and to excellence in systems has helped revitalize my business.”
Ensuring there was a strong team and trusted leadership in place, Andrew was able to achieve record profits AND spend more time with his family.
Andrew has always been committed to excellence. That’s why his clients love him. But with just 2 crews and more established competitors, he was salesperson, maintenance chief, HR manager, team supervisor and financial manager.
In a seasonal business, that meant long hours and high stress.
Together, we evaluated the 3 tiers of customers he served, his margins for each and his conversion rates.
We chose to target larger jobs, even though competitors had more established reputations.
To do this, we revised his Unique Selling Proposition, up-levelled his sales skills and sales process. We also redefined his culture, hired to that culture and exited those who didn’t fit.
Results
Revenue has almost tripled to over $5 million.
Average job size has doubled. Margins have grown.
From 9 employees to 34.
Winter snow removal revenue increased by 30%.
Purchased another company to complement his existing services. Combined, that will add more than $2 million in profitability.
And as importantly, he now has a trusted leadership team committed to the culture and to the business’ growth. That means, in his busiest season, he is able to be at home with his children for dinner.
Strategic Site Selection
Immediate Clarity & Big-Picture Strategy
Mark Dosman, Founder
“Warren’s strategy process and his ability to keep us focused on what matters most has been instrumental in guiding us through the greatest existential risk in the history of my business. COVID can’t keep us down!”
With a clear objective and buy in from his entire team, Mark was able to weather incredibly uncertain times and come out stronger on the other side!
Mark’s business has long been a leader in securing locations for corporate events. When COVID decimated the event industry, companies began cancelling events. Working through the Business That Matters Playbook, the entire leadership team became engaged in the search for the pivot. Based on an evaluation of resources, market trends and internal capabilities, we examined several options and focused on 2. Those options generated both activity and cash flow to sustain the organization through the pandemic.
Results
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As the world reopens, the business now has 3 profitable service lines.
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Team surveys show the culture is at a renewed and high level of engagement.
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Clarity of the cash and financial resources of the firm give Mark and his leadership team a line of sight on their resources into the future.
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This allows them to make strategic decisions for the long term growth of the business, such as key hires and engaging relevant external agencies.
