Allan Smith
Business Growth Catalyst -- Coach and Consultant

Business +

• http://www.bizplusconsulting.com

While working in various industries, I saw a real need for affordable advice for small businesses and NFP's. I founded Business + to help companies from start-ups to established firms discover and realize their potential and fulfill the owners' dreams. The outcome sounds vague, but the work is very concrete, ranging from coaching CEO's and start-up entrepreneurs, to data collection, conducting goal-setting workshops, developing marketing, sales, and strategic plans, and offering training and development for managers and sales people.

Many think business is Darwinian in nature--adaptations to the business environment which are more successful than competitors tend to survive. Whether Darwin's theories have merit or not, I help people create flexible, adaptive structures and systems that are proactive in nature and react quickly in sensing and acting on opportunities. If this sounds dry, that's because it is; the actual process of discovery is much more fun, exciting and rewarding than being the most prosperous cave dweller on the mountain.

By observing and talking about how leaders and employees behave and work in the company, I develop a model of what is happening, and work with the owner to create an Organizational Improvement Plan. With gentle but direct feedback, I show the owners/managers how different ways of looking at things can lead to new behaviors and new strategies. They see how to change certain behaviors, learn how to build a better company, and initiate better ways to find and capture the customers they need. This process is fun, energizing, challenging, and extremely meaningful to the participants.

Uncovering the truth, and then sharing it with the owners in a way that doesn't make them want to jump out the window in despair. Most business owners and managers are great at something connected to the purpose of the business, which is how they got there in the first place. But that doesn't mean they know HOW to run a business, HOW to create a vision, HOW to set and more importantly follow goals, HOW to lead employees so they will follow, and HOW to actually turn a profit. Think about all the successful entrepreneurs that DON'T have Harvard MBAs. Somewhere along the way, they learned the kind of behaviors and essential knowledge to be successful. Or they were very, very lucky. I speed up the knowledge and behavior acquisition process to move you faster toward your goals.

People who want their companies to do better, but need a catalyst. Company owners who ask, "Why do I work so hard, and my profit is nothing to write home about?"

I have a bachelors in Economics from the University of Missouri specializing in structure of industry, a Master's (and 3 classes and a dissertation away from a PhD.) in Organizational Behavior from Washington University in St. Louis.

Projects for major health care providers led me to become an entrepreneur in the home health field, in which I founded several companies in three states. My business grew to become one of the largest franchise operations in the national Staff Builders Health Care system, and the most profitable in the Midwest.

I subsequently served as president of several private companies, have consulted to a wide variety of industries, and served on numerous community boards.

My background also includes serving two years in Human Resources at the St. Louis Public Schools, working as a consultant and trainer at Monsanto Company, and interesting work in consumer studies at The Research and Planning Group.

I have taught courses at Washington University, SIUE, and Webster University, where I was an Adjunct Professor in the Graduate Management program. Some of the courses I have taught are Organizational Development, Management, Business Values, Managerial Economics, Organizational Structure, and Human Resource Development.