195. How to Run a Small Business Like a $100M Company | UpFlip Podcast
What does a CEO from the hundred-million-dollar corporate world know about running a small screen printing shop? As it turns out, everything.
Dan Frank left a career in global logistics to acquire a local print shop, convinced that elite business principles in efficiency and productivity could transform small businesses into multi-million dollar companies. His theory was put to the ultimate test when the pandemic hit six months later, forcing him to innovate or fail. The result: he doubled the business and scaled to nearly 100 employees.
In this interview with Ryan Atkinson, Dan unpacks the exact operational playbook he used to engineer this explosive business growth. He reveals the secrets to applying lean manufacturing on a small scale, building a merit-based company culture , and the best way to maintain high employee retention. For any owner looking to break through a growth plateau, this episode is a masterclass in turning a traditional business into a high-performance machine!
Takeaways:
- Apply core principles of manufacturing, efficiency, and budgeting to any business, regardless of its size. High-level strategies are not just for large corporations.
- Use a major crisis as a catalyst for innovation. Instead of just cutting back, pivot your business model, invest in technology, and re-engineer processes to fuel future growth.
- To improve efficiency, you must first measure it. Implement systems that track daily productivity and set clear, obtainable performance standards for employees to strive toward.
- Create a system where compensation and promotions are directly tied to measurable performance. This "meritocracy" directly rewards and motivates your highest-achieving employees.
- Foster a high-performance environment by investing directly in your team. This can include significantly increasing pay, adding full benefits, and implementing a profit-sharing program tied to performance.
- Implement a strict probationary period and be prepared to let go of new hires who are not a cultural fit. This "fire fast" approach protects your company culture and leads to higher long-term retention.
- Scaling your business successfully requires building a reliable management team through years of mentoring, daily production huddles, and fostering a collaborative problem-solving environment.
- Build a "winning culture" by setting realistic and achievable goals. Avoid demoralizing "stretch goals"; instead, set targets that allow your team to win consistently, which builds motivation.
- Identify and intensely focus on your single most controllable expense. For Dan, managing labor costs as a specific percentage of revenue was the key to ensuring overall profitability.
- Place your leadership directly where the core work is done. Moving supervisors from offices to the production floor eliminates a potential "us vs. them" culture and keeps them engaged in daily operations.
Tags: Retail Goods, Print Shop, Lean Manufacturing, Entrepreneurship, Business Growth
Resources: