In 1978, fourteen year-old Toby Asplin started his first business. Toby grew that business exponentially over the next three years and then exited to go off to college.
In the 40 years that followed, Toby has started, acquired and participated in the startup of more than 30 businesses. That experience taught Toby many things. He learned what it takes for a successful startup. He learned how to transition from self-employment to running a business. He discovered ways to grow businesses exponentially without overwhelming himself or the business. He found that he needed to begin with the end in mind – planning his exit strategy along with his startup or growth strategy.
Following his most recent successful exit, Toby started Bluestem Business Builders to make his expertise available to small and medium business owners and would-be entrepreneurs. As a business coach, Bluestem Business Builders is very different from most. Toby felt that there were too many business coaches with little actual experience running a small business. Toby’s coaching is experience-based, pragmatic and custom-tailored for each client. There are no one-size-fits-all solutions even though most businesses face common challenges.
Through Bluestem Business Builders, Toby and his associates offer business coaching in key areas for small and medium businesses:
Startups and introductions to entrepreneurship – from thinking about owning a business through the startup phase and launch
Level-ups and transitions – taking your business to the next level, whether it is from self-employment to hiring employees or from local to international
Exit strategies and planning – begin with the end in mind; if you didn’t, plan your exit now
Strategic planning – developing a vision, mission and values to guide your organization and then connecting your strategy to the day-to-day work that needs to get done
Skills coaching – leadership, time management, communication, sales, project management and other key skill areas
Personnel management – hiring, grooming, motivating, providing incentives, putting the right people in the right roles and letting people go when it just doesn’t work out
Systemization and automation – one of the key elements of exponential growth