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Listen "#5 — Technical Experts - from Zero to 40m in 15 Years - Chris Eldridge"
Episode Synopsis
When do you stop saying yes to all customer types and all jobs for those customers when aspiring to grow?
Should you niche down, or stay broad? Can you keep scaling if you niche down on a key customer type?
How do you get yourself out of the way if you’re no longer the best person to run the business operationally? Will your ego cope with that?
These are precisely the kinds of challenges that Chris Eldridge from 4Impact has overcome to grow the company from 0m to 20m in the first 15 years, then from 20m to 40m in the last 5 year. That’s quite a journey!
HERE'S WHAT WE COVER IN THE EPISODE....
01:57 – The 4Impact Business Model
05:53 – How Our Focus Changed Over Time As We Scaled
07:22 – What were the key technologies you mastered?
09:36 – Growth Metrics
12:25 – The Systems and Processes That Were Holding Us Back
17:11 – The Highs and Lows of Co-Founding and Business Partnerships
19:49 – What did you learn from that experience?
23:29 – Why did you take on an Advisory Board and how did it help?
29:54 – Reflections on How We (and I’ve) Changed Since Establishing an Advisory Board
32:50 – How We Funded Our Growth
36:46 – Managing Your Cashflow
37:37 – Who was your first key hire and what value did they create?
39:22 – If you had your time over again, what would you do differently?
42:37 – Work From the Customer’s Problem, Backwards
42:45 – My Biggest Mistakes
44:54 – What will the business look like in three years?
43:01 – The Communication that Matters to Your Team
46:30 – Chris’ Three “Above All Else’s”
48:13 – Acknowledgement
48:51 – How to follow Chris
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IF YOU GOT VALUE FROM TODAY'S EPISODE, PLEASE REMEMBER TO:
1. Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts
2. Register to be the first to know when new episodes drop and free tools are published at www.scaleupspodcast.com, or
3. Drop us a question about scaling using Speakpipe on the website, or email [email protected].
Follow us on your favourite socials:
ScaleUps Podcast on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/scaleupspodcast
ScaleUps Podcast on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scaleupspodcast/
ScaleUps Podcast on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/scaleupspodcast
Watch the full episode at ScaleUps Podcast on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLlvcqAuqJMYBVUBoiixChQ
You can connect with Chris from 4Impact and Business Balance Sheet via:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopherpeldridge/
LinkedIn 4Impact: https://www.linkedin.com/company/4impact/
Website Business Balance Sheet: www.businessbalancesheet.com.au
Website 4Impact: https://www.4impact.com/
or you can reach out to connect with Sean directly via:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seansteeleprofile/
Website: www.seansteele.com.au
Should you niche down, or stay broad? Can you keep scaling if you niche down on a key customer type?
How do you get yourself out of the way if you’re no longer the best person to run the business operationally? Will your ego cope with that?
These are precisely the kinds of challenges that Chris Eldridge from 4Impact has overcome to grow the company from 0m to 20m in the first 15 years, then from 20m to 40m in the last 5 year. That’s quite a journey!
HERE'S WHAT WE COVER IN THE EPISODE....
01:57 – The 4Impact Business Model
05:53 – How Our Focus Changed Over Time As We Scaled
07:22 – What were the key technologies you mastered?
09:36 – Growth Metrics
12:25 – The Systems and Processes That Were Holding Us Back
17:11 – The Highs and Lows of Co-Founding and Business Partnerships
19:49 – What did you learn from that experience?
23:29 – Why did you take on an Advisory Board and how did it help?
29:54 – Reflections on How We (and I’ve) Changed Since Establishing an Advisory Board
32:50 – How We Funded Our Growth
36:46 – Managing Your Cashflow
37:37 – Who was your first key hire and what value did they create?
39:22 – If you had your time over again, what would you do differently?
42:37 – Work From the Customer’s Problem, Backwards
42:45 – My Biggest Mistakes
44:54 – What will the business look like in three years?
43:01 – The Communication that Matters to Your Team
46:30 – Chris’ Three “Above All Else’s”
48:13 – Acknowledgement
48:51 – How to follow Chris
------------------------------------------------------
IF YOU GOT VALUE FROM TODAY'S EPISODE, PLEASE REMEMBER TO:
1. Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts
2. Register to be the first to know when new episodes drop and free tools are published at www.scaleupspodcast.com, or
3. Drop us a question about scaling using Speakpipe on the website, or email [email protected].
Follow us on your favourite socials:
ScaleUps Podcast on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/scaleupspodcast
ScaleUps Podcast on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scaleupspodcast/
ScaleUps Podcast on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/scaleupspodcast
Watch the full episode at ScaleUps Podcast on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLlvcqAuqJMYBVUBoiixChQ
You can connect with Chris from 4Impact and Business Balance Sheet via:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopherpeldridge/
LinkedIn 4Impact: https://www.linkedin.com/company/4impact/
Website Business Balance Sheet: www.businessbalancesheet.com.au
Website 4Impact: https://www.4impact.com/
or you can reach out to connect with Sean directly via:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seansteeleprofile/
Website: www.seansteele.com.au
In God we trust