Jeff Martin With Company Growth Academy

Intro: [00:00:02] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, it’s time for Coach the Coach Radio brought to you by the Business RadioX ambassador program, the no cost business development strategy for coaches who want to spend more time serving local business clients and less time selling them. Go to brxambassador.com to learn more. Now here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:33] Lee Kantor here, another episode of Coach the Coach Radio, and this is going to be a good one. Today we have with us Jeff Martin with Company Growth Academy. Welcome, Jeff.

Jeff Martin: [00:00:43] Hey, thanks for having me.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:44] Well, I’m excited to learn what you’re up to. Tell us a little bit about Company Growth Academy, how you serve seven folks.

Jeff Martin: [00:00:50] Yeah, well, for the most part, it’s about introducing frameworks or systems into your business that create enough efficiency, that it frees the owner up to do what they really want to do. And most often that’s, you know, spending time with family or growing their company through different means. So it’s really about giving these owners freedom to do the things they want to do.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:18] But you built it around kind of creating systems and processes that are replicable. That can be you know, I don’t want to say set it and forget it, but it can at least give you a framework to run your business and the day to day basis.

Jeff Martin: [00:01:30] That’s right. And, you know, I believe that the simpler the better, because, you know, if you have employees, they have to get around this. And if you put something in your business that’s too complicated, it’s not going to go well. So simple is not always easy, but simple frameworks that when all coupled together give you an operating system that provides freedom.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:56] And then if you do it right, your life becomes a lot easier and a lot less stressful.

Jeff Martin: [00:02:02] Yeah, no doubt about it. And again, it’s to me, we go into business for particular reasons. Most often it’s to have freedom, business decision, freedom, geographical freedom, financial freedom. What we lose, though, is time, freedom and opportunity, freedom. And so you take a typical service provider. They are the service. And so it makes perfect sense that when they start their business out, most of their systems are are revolved around them. And so they’re their employees and their customers really become overly reliant on them being there. And so it really takes away from the time and opportunity for you to you need to grow your company.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:53] Yeah, I mean, you’re talking my language. I am a big proponent of systems and processes, and it’s something that can be game changing if you really invest the time and do the kind of work up front to really put those in place. I am with you 100 percent. Now, talk about your back story. How did you kind of arrive at that kind of conclusion that teaching people how to implement systems are the way for growth?

Jeff Martin: [00:03:22] If I’m being perfectly honest, it’s because I got trapped in in a business outside of four years in the military, I’ve been 100 percent sole proprietor, business operator and entrepreneur. I I basically grew a company so fast and got so I didn’t have a healthy position, you know, you want to be on top of the company and controlling it, but when the company takes control of you and every decision you make, it really takes away from the power that you can you can have. And so I was able to regain my control and came back some freedom by implementing systems and frameworks and basically fighting and struggling. So so to tell you, it’s because I it happened to me and I broke through it.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:23] So you were struggling and then you almost had to put these systems in place. Are your business, which is kind of run run you over? Pretty much,

Jeff Martin: [00:04:32] Yeah, 100 percent. You know, and it was a really good thing because my company was growing so quickly. It just it just had control of every decision I made, every thing. And, you know, you probably heard this a thousand times. You might be at a party or you might be at a baseball game with your kids, but your minds are back at the office and there’s there’s just nothing worse now.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:59] So you come to this conclusion like I mean. Well, first of all, let me step back a little. You were fortunate enough to have a business that was growing rapidly. I mean, a lot of people think that. What are you complaining about? That’s what we’re all trying to do. But that is kind of a double edged sword. I mean, it can overwhelm you and it can really be destructive if it isn’t managed. Right. So people wishing for lots of business can quickly, if they don’t have the systems in place, be overrun by it and it can turn negative pretty quickly.

Jeff Martin: [00:05:28] Yeah. And I don’t want to get too negative myself, but growth doesn’t necessarily mean profit. And so what I’m about is growing a profitable business and one that you can sustain that growth. You know, as long as you’re in the gate,

Lee Kantor: [00:05:45] So now so you have this kind of moment of reflection and say, hey, I got to get this under control. Did you just start breaking things down into systems like at some point you were trying to, I’m sure, fire yourself from certain jobs?

Jeff Martin: [00:05:59] Yeah, and that’s exactly what I had to do. Again, I talk about my typical client, their service providers, and so you could be a plumber, you could be a chiropractor, a flight instructor. My customers, they are the service. And like I said, it makes sense when you’re starting out. Just think of the plumber, you know? He’s a one man show until he brings somebody in to answer the phone and then his dream is to get multiple trucks. Well, I mean, it’s really hard to do it when you are working in the business. You have to rely on other folks. And so as that growth happens, most of the time they’re creating systems on the fly. You know that they’re creating systems. The worst part about it is they’re all in their head. They’re all in the owner’s head. Right. And so documentation is wildly important, but ensuring that you have a really simple system or process or framework that other people can follow. That is that is the only thing that’s really going to help remove you or transition you from the role of service provider to an entrepreneur who has the freedom to go out and do the things they want, like stop passing up opportunities to start. Looking at ideas and fleshing them out to see if they might make sense, rather to have another location or whatever and maybe even take a vacation, you know, and spend time with your family, it’s there’s there’s nothing worse than being away and thinking your whole business is about to fall apart.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:47] Right. And that’s a clue that you really don’t have a business. You have a job if that’s the case

Jeff Martin: [00:07:52] In a bad job.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:54] Now, what we do here, and I don’t know how you feel about this is the rule is if you do something twice, then write it down. It goes in the manual.

Jeff Martin: [00:08:03] I love it. It sounds great

Lee Kantor: [00:08:05] Because that’s what we find is that we end up doing the same task over and over, like it’s the first time we’ve ever done this. And if you just write it down, then you have a chance to even write it down poorly. You have a chance to delegate it to somebody else.

Jeff Martin: [00:08:19] I love that I make still that formula is absolutely.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:24] But so that’s the mentality, though, to be thinking, right, that everything should go into some sort of a manual of some kind, whether it’s digital or an actual, you know, pieces of paper. But you want to get some of these systems down on some form so that you can hand it to somebody else to give them at least a running start when they start.

Jeff Martin: [00:08:43] That’s right. You know, I already have ready-Made frameworks that that when you plug them into your system, it allows you to begin to operate and to pull back from that that service provider role. And it gives you tools to train your folks so they can repeat and and replicate what what you’re doing. And so I but but you’re 100 percent right. Even writing it down badly or writing a checklist. And truly, I don’t care if it’s a checklist or a video of the step by step process, but the thing you want to avoid if you don’t I was a franchisor at one point in my life, and that’s the business that I talked about that grew so quickly. So with a franchise model, you have to have standard operating procedures or, you know, operations manual. The challenge is getting people to follow them, you know, because if you don’t if it’s not one to done and if, you know, the last thing is to lock up and turn the lights off, trust me, one day, if you don’t have it documented, you’re going to drive by and the lights are going to be on. Right. And so you just you just have to document. Well, so I love that you all do that.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:00] So now walk me through kind of what an engagement with your firm looks like. What is my struggle? Am I sound like I’m a service provider? I’m a solo partner? First, I would imagine. And I’m just so I’m getting too busy. And it’s one of those a lot of solar panels or suffer from feast or famine. You know, when I got a job, I’m working on the job, so I’m not marketing. And when I don’t have a job now I’m marketing and I don’t because I don’t have a job. So it’s you know, I’m either on water, I’m on a higher or low, depending on, you know, the time of the month.

Jeff Martin: [00:10:32] You’re right. So the first part, like like anybody would say the first part of a cure is if you have a problem with business owners are sometimes control freaks, we want to do it our way because that’s the proven way. And we prove to ourselves that we like that. So you first have to seek help once you reach out to me. What I would do is I would sit down with you and do a business assessment. It generally takes about two hours, but it’s designed to get to know you. I think it’s fair that you should get to know me and, you know, a prospect would get to know me and how I might be able to help him. And then then I go into a real structured interview where I look at the separate parts of your business to find out what systems you have in place and to see what’s working. We didn’t look at see what’s what’s where we have room to improve. And then we look and I create a roadmap for you and a 90 day execution roadmap. What I like to do, Leigh, is is work in 90 day cycles.

Jeff Martin: [00:11:39] And so we’ll put our heads down and we’ll start implementing, you know, one or two or three frameworks depending on what we get done in 90 days. Then we come up for air and look at what we need to do next. Celebrate victories, continually improving things, and then, you know, could put our head down and get to work again. And so that’s that’s how it is. I am I’m there’s some teaching that goes on to teach the frameworks. There’s some coaching that will always be going on to ensure that you’re on the right track and then sometimes facilitating. Sometimes I’ll work with my customers, clients. One of the things that I found out early on, because I had a great desire to work with the owner, the owner himself or herself. And I found that oftentimes the way to help the owner most is to help bring up the team and grow the team, and that really does help them, you know, make that transition to a confident entrepreneur with with time to do what they need to do.

Lee Kantor: [00:12:47] So now. So when they’re working with you, are they working with you one on one, or is it a group format? Like what is the engagement look like from the customer standpoint?

Jeff Martin: [00:12:58] Both. You know, I say it’s one on one, but what I mean is one me two one you is the business, you know. So I will work with the owner, I will work with the leadership management team or I’ll work with the different departments. I’ll go in and work with somebody, the sales department and the sales team. I’ll work with the marketing team. So where are we where we have an opportunity to improve something? Typically will will add in a framework and then will we’ll teach that will coach it and we’ll make it happen. So one of my engagements might be a one to one coaching session with a client face to face or bazoo. Another session might be a small workshop where I bring in the whole company or a different department and we do a, you know, two hour workshop to get something installed. And then I work it with small groups and either either I have several business owners or I’ll have their team and work as a small group only. So it’s the same. Product, if you will, service providing the frameworks and coaching them through it, but I offer different mediums to to make it happen. I just want to see you grow and free up the owner to do what they really, truly want to do and need to do for the company.

Lee Kantor: [00:14:24] Now, can you share a story where you were working with somebody and maybe share what don’t name the name, but the pain they were going through and how then they started working with you and how you were able to help them get to the next level?

Jeff Martin: [00:14:35] Yeah, sure. I have a a client. I can tell you tell you several I’m thinking about which wanted to talk about. I have a client though, that is who owns physical therapy clinics. He started out as a solo partner and started in that growth phase. After several years, he realized, I have to back out a little bit, but I just don’t know how to do it. And so he began, you know, replacing himself, if you will. Today he has four locations in our area. He’s in a leadership role rather than the day to day operations. He still does day to day, but he’s got it in a situation now where each one of his physical therapy locations has a clinic director. They’re fully staffed and he does some oversight. He does some coaching. He does leadership. So what’s funny is, you know, I’ve I’ve been coaching for 30 years in every business I’ve ever owned. It’s so nice to see these owners really become coaches and leaders rather than service providers.

Lee Kantor: [00:15:53] Yeah, I’ll tell you, and I’ve talked to a lot of coaches doing this show, the coaches seem to get more kind of joy and satisfaction from their client’s success than even from them getting another client.

Jeff Martin: [00:16:06] It’s so true. In fact, rather than market, I would rather work with somebody, you know, so we coaches can find it’s feast or famine sometimes, too. We may have this influx of clients and we start working with them and then we forget the market for a little while. It’s because we love coaching, you know, and seeing success of our clients. And so maybe that’s a lesson there.

Lee Kantor: [00:16:32] I think it is. Well, Jeff, congratulations on all the success and thank you so much for sharing your story today. Is there a website people can go to to learn more, connect with you again on your calendar?

Jeff Martin: [00:16:43] Yeah, sure. Thank you. Go to Company Growth Academy Dotcom or just visit with Jeff Dotcom. Visit with Jeff Dotcom.

Lee Kantor: [00:16:54] Good stuff. Well, thank you again for sharing your story. Jeff, you’re doing important work and we appreciate you, Lee.

Jeff Martin: [00:16:59] Thanks for having me. I sure have had fun.

Lee Kantor: [00:17:01] All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see next time on Coach the Coach Radio.