#159: Taking Checks vs Giving Checks: 5 Key Elements to 15% Annual Growth

Duane Smith is the CEO of True North Companies (a business which aims to help entrepreneurs strategically). In this episode, I talked with calm, cool, and collected Duane about how businesses can thrive as long as they have the five key elements of success. We also talked about his “tuition payments”, the theories behind his structural entrepreneur platform, and what the five key elements are and how you can improve on them. 

What you will learn:

• The importance of creating and following your vision statement
• The difference between ownership and leadership
• What is a perpetual legacy transition plan?
• The 5 key elements of success
• What is Duane’s structural entrepreneur platform?
• The importance of building the environment which can attract and build performance
• How you build transparency in a company
• The importance of growth, your business culture, client experience and operation, finance & accounting

Takeaways:

Try to determine what you want and why. What are the targets and strategies you are trying to execute? How do you consistently execute those things in the day-to-day functions of the business while also building a culture which wraps around all that? 

Links and Resources:

Duane Smith

True North Companies

EntreFest

ARKONA Boot Camp

About Duane:

Duane Smith started off in the insurance business and life was great until interest rates skyrocketed and he suddenly needed to foreclose on the people he went to church with. That’s when he knew he needed a change.

He is a jack-of-all-trades, having worked with insurance, risk management, mergers & acquisitions, succession planning, and volunteering for the Chamber of Commerce, and development committees.

When working with their clients, Duane morphs into a professional partner. In this position, he is able to work closely with their clients in order to assist in strategic succession planning, mergers, and acquisitions. His experience and intuition allows him to construct personalized packages for each client, in order to meet their needs. He can also work as a consultant in order to guide organizations to success.