Economic Gardening

ATTENTION: Economic Developers

How To Turn 1 Hour Per Month
Into 1000 Jobs

We all want to increase the jobs and economic success of the small businesses in our areas – and you work tirelessly to increase the effectiveness of your support for those small businesses.

You probably offer programs focused on start-up and early-stage entrepreneurs. But we’ve found there is little support for the more sophisticated “Stage 2” small businesses that have passed $1 million in revenue and have more than 10 employees.

Yet Stage 2 businesses are the only segment of employers who add more than their fair share of new jobs!

Stage 2 companies are not easy to serve

They have outgrown the basic training that is helpful to start-ups
The usual training that's available for large companies is too specialized or too resource intensive
They have little time and money to waste, so your support needs to hit them right where they need it

Learn How To Improve Your Economic Gardening

FROM: Dave Haviland

Dear Economic Developer,

We are offering a free webinar to help you better serve your area's Stage 2 small business - those who are best positioned to create new jobs. Two experts with over three decades of experience working with Stage 2 companies will take an hour to describe Stage 2 challenges with clarity and insight that you’ve never heard before, and then explain what kind of economic development support these companies need – and what you can do about it.

In the hour, you'll learn:

Why Stage 2 companies have trouble unlocking their potential – and what you can do to help them
What one shift in thinking Stage 2 leaders can make that vastly increases their chances for breakthrough growth – and the unique role that economic developers can play in that shift
What Stage 2 businesses need to do to succeed – and how you can benefit when they do succeed
Why economic developers are best positioned to help Stage 2
How we can create a win-win-win by helping Stage 2 companies grow your local economy, AND generate great new opportunities for your local consultants, counselors, and other service providers; AND better fulfill your mission and generate bigger results for your stakeholders.

For all of you who want to help local small businesses grow, these are ideas you need to know – with insights on Stage 2 and economic gardening that you won’t hear anywhere else. REGISTER

Who I Am and Why I Can Help You Understand Stage 2?

Dave
Dave Haviland

My name is Dave Haviland, and I’ve dedicated the past 15 years of my life to helping Stage 2 leaders navigate the big shifts they must understand to achieve further growth. Along the way, I help them change the dynamic so that their personal situation gets better too, which is what they expected from growth in the first place.

Even while we've been saddled with this difficult economy, I’ve been responsible directly or indirectly for strategies that have generated over $50 million in new revenues, $10 million in new profits, and $15 million in new investment for the small number of consulting clients I can handle personally.

I'm also co-author of the Stage 2 Owner's Manual, a multimedia guide to making the transition from entrepreneurship to enterprise. It's packed with tools and tips to help Stage 2 companies overcome their growing pains.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE STAGE 2 OWNER'S MANUAL

Here’s what some of our clients and colleagues say about us:

Impressive

"As a CFO for several small and mid-size companies, I am impressed with Phimation’s knowledge of the challenges facing Stage 2 companies. The hurdles Phimation highlights are exactly what I see at my clients every day, but often my clients don’t know where to start. Phimation explains the deeper strategies that make companies more profitable, and the strategic models that leaders need to take the right steps.”
-Sheri Pawlik, B2B CFO

We May Have Been Able to Avoid So Many Avalanches

"Hi Dave. I have read the chapters and I am going through the videos now...and I have to say...have you just been watching us? Honestly, we have been experiencing everything you describe...and certainly this month has been quite a pivotal time in our business where I can see if we had some strategies in place we may have been able to avoid so many avalanches."
- Visionary & Co-Founder, Internet Marketing Firm

The Best Source of Knowledge and Wisdom

“When your company moves from startup to second stage growth, you don’t have the luxury of being an amateur manager. You’re a professional CEO and you need to learn from the best.

Phimation offers tremendous resources. Based on my experience going from $1M to $6M, they may be the single best source of knowledge and even wisdom that you’ll need to become the professional CEO your company needs you to be.

Their Stage 2 Owner’s Manual is like a cheat sheet on how to keep your company on track and growing through that tough time that every business hits AFTER you survive startup.”
-Don Hicks, President & CEO, LLamasoft, Inc.

I Wish You Would Have Offered Me the Book 4 Years Ago

"Hi David. I wish you would have offered me the book 4 years ago when we began the whole transition discussion and process. I say this because it suggests some things we could/should have done to minimize the issues we are having.

It occurs to me that it might be well for the entire company to read/have a course in/or in some way have a clear understanding of what a Stage 1 to Stage 2 transformation requires."
-Founder & Chairman, Plastics Engineering Company

Invaluable

"As the former owner of a Stage 2 business, and the director of a program for start-up entrepreneurs, Phimation's thinking on how to make the jump from start-up to Stage 2 is invaluable. Sure, many entrepreneurs eventually figure things out - but not without a lot of mistakes and learning. With Phimation's strategic insights, Stage 2 companies accelerate their results and avoid some major mistakes that many leaders make." -Diane Durance. Executive Director, Great Lakes Entrepreneur Quest; Former Owner, Lexicon Publishing

I’m also regularly featured in publications such as Inc., The Street, The American Management Association, B2Buzz, and locally in Southeast Michigan where I live, Crain's Detroit Business, WJR and WDET.

I don’t want to sound like I’m bragging, but I don't know anyone who has focused on the unique nuances of Stage 2 as closely as I have. And frankly, I don't need to provide this training. I have a very busy and successful consulting practice. But this is my contribution to our economic revival. I can help you, help our economy, and expand my impact all at the same time. It's win-win-win. REGISTER

You’ll Also Learn From Randy Albert,
Co-Author of the Stage 2 Owner's Manual

As the Principal of Strategic Change Advisors, Randy is an expert in what it takes to initiate and implement change. He's also extremely talented when it comes to capturing consulting experience in useful packages. You wouldn’t be reading this now if it weren’t for him. I'd still be totally focused on individual consulting projects.

Randy will be teaching the webinar with me. His 25 years of business experience - as a founder and CEO of start-ups, as a Stage 2 business executive, and as a consultant to both small and large corporations - adds an invaluable perspective on where Stage 2 companies are coming from and where they're tying to go. REGISTER

Randy Albert

Stage 2 Companies Need to SHIFT™
to Achieve Job Growth

The vast majority of Stage 2 companies are led by the founder or subsequent generations of the founder's family. While they may not be "professional" managers, they are VERY successful business people. It's an extraordinary accomplishment to get a business past start-up, and as leaders who have done it, they are rightfully confident in their abilities.

But that confidence is an Achilles' heel for most Stage 2 leaders. What made them successful in Stage 0/1 no longer works in Stage 2. If you want to see them grow, they must SHIFT^TM their thinking, and they'll need your help:

S	- Strategies appropriate to Stage 2
H	- Honesty about their blindspots and their need for help
I	- Insight that changes the way they look at problems
F	- Frameworks that simplify and clarify their path forward
T	- Tools that work in Stage 2

Take 3 minutes to watch this video for a detailed overview of the big shifts they (and you) need to understand:

Comments From Session Evaluations

“Very informative. Used many examples to articulate information. Allowed a lot of communication and interaction with the group"

“Dave and Randy were excellent and hit a lot of points very appropriate for the timing of the market and where our company is now”

"I registered to understand better why I am the way I am, to understand where I am now, and to view from a different perspective exactly where I need to go. You have provided a picture and a map."

“Well laid out, objectives established at the beginning, and follow through was excellent."

“Validated some of our priorities. Reminded me of a lot we are not doing.”

“Concise - hit the points to think about how you function best and can improve.”

“I thought Dave and Randy provided a lot of insight on Stage 2 - and differences between Stage 1.”

“It really made me think of how to grow business.”

“Some really good 'hands on' ideas.”

The webinar will be made available immediately upon registration. Fill out the form below so we can provide details about how to connect.

We respect your email privacy, will not add you to any list,
and will never rent or sell your contact information.

Once you've viewed the webinar, please don't hesitate to contact me. I'd love to discuss how our programs can help you, your local service providers, and your local Stage 2 small businesses.

Looking forward to speaking with you,

Dave Haviland

PS - We know your time is precious, so we won't waste it. There is no more efficient or risk free way to learn more about how to help the real engines of your economy - Stage 2 small businesses. Register for our free webinar now.

Phimation Strategy Group
201 S. Main, Ste. 808 ● Ann Arbor, MI 48104
734 622-0808