Article contributed by Dan Lounsbury

I have over 25 years of experience building small businesses. I’ve had both success and failure that have taught valuable lessons and I leverage these experiences for my clients, helping them design strategies for long-term business growth that adds value to their lives.

Small businesses start small, but they don’t have to stay that way

Every business venture I’ve ever been involved with has started the same way. Small. It started with one idea and one vision. From there, growing into a diverse enterprise was about becoming an expert in that one thing, knowing my competition, and being able to exploit our niche.

As revenues grew, the need for scalable production become more crucial. We took this journey over a period of years by first subcontracting to other overseas and domestic manufacturers, and eventually building our own facilities here in the U.S. to deliver the best quality products we could offer.

Growth for many of my businesses was about being in the right place at the right time, with the exact solution the client required. As we continued to grow, I came to realize that hard work and persistence was the cause of being in the right place at the right time, not just luck.

When the simple things became more complex, so did the day to day operations of my life. I had to create a plan to meet my personal goals as well as my professional goals. This involved the addition of experts to our team — we hired the best people we could find and empowered them to do what they do best — perform. Most business owners will focus on the growth of their company, but often sacrifice their own well-being, justifying the “company first” mentality. This mistake can be catastrophic.

The whole point of building a successful business is to build the life you want for yourself and for your family — your legacy. The goal shouldn’t be to work yourself to death, but rather to build a business that works for you, makes you happy, and provides you with the ability to enjoy your life with friends and family.

Pulling from past experience

My background is quite diverse. I served as an enlisted man and later an officer in the Navy, learning about the needs of the U.S. military — which was invaluable later in life as I drew upon my experience working with and building teams of professionals whom relied upon each other.

Spending more time in the private sector, working in the finance, software, telecom and defense industries helped broaden and refine my abilities to analyze a variety of situations and create a strategy to achieve our team objectives. I started my first business in 1998 and have since built 7 different companies.

I’ve created multiple sourcing and production partnership in the U.S. and overseas, spending countless hours developing genuine relationships with valued partners. Over the past 20 years our businesses have sourced thousands of items from factories around the world including Asia (China, Pakistan and Vietnam) and others.

One of the most significant factors which contributed to our growth was surrounding myself with other people who were also driven, ethical and goal oriented. From each of these experiences, I’ve gained knowledge and insight that has helped me develop my own strategies. It took me decades to gain the confidence that has helped me become a happy man and successful business owner and I want to share it with other like-minded people. Entrepreneurs like me who are ready to grow not just their business, but their life.

Building your strategy

My approach to working with clients on their own strategies is straight-forward. I listen to your goals and the road blocks you currently face. I want to know your dreams, your vision, what’s worked, and most importantly what hasn’t worked and why you think that. I’m also interested in how your business strategy works with the life you’re trying to build. What’s your end goal?

One of the best things I’ve done for my own life is try to surround myself with the right people. That’s what Legacy Growth Services is all about. It’s a mentoring partnership that helps you plan and accomplish your goals for the betterment of your entire life.

We will help you define your strategy for the long-term growth of your business, but we do more than that. We can help you focus on surrounding yourself with the right people, building a sound plan, and executing it so you can live the life you want.