Robert Clinkenbeard co-founded one of the largest landscape companies (ILM) in the South West Region of the United States back in 2001. The company quickly grew to 350+ employees with five branches and revenue of more than $20M. In 2016, Robert decided to sell the business and focus on coaching other entrepreneurs to achieve the same success he did. He is now CEO of the Radix Group and is a senior leader in Entrepreneur’s Organization (EO).
He credits EO with helping him realize that he wanted to sell his business, “My business was successful, but I still wasn't happy. I don't think I would have gotten to that point of selling my business without being around other business owners in EO and hearing their stories.” In EO, entrepreneurs with revenue at $1M and above come together for support and learning. So not only is it about business, but it's also about talking through the personal challenges we face as entrepreneurs every day.
In addition to EO, Robert is a Scaling-Up coach. He originally started using the Scaling-Up methodologies to grow his own business. As a coach, Robert helps leadership teams and CEOs get through difficult situations and build a roadmap for taking the company.
What are the few bits of advice he would give a business owner?
1. Have a vibrant culture, and be aware of how you measure that. For example, "I think culture is preventing a lot of people from getting employees. If you don’t have a vibrant culture, employees leave.”
2. Have the right people in place. Ask yourself: “Would I be enthusiastically hiring my leadership team again?” Having the right team in place allows you also to go out and live your life. For example, Robert used this time to start running Ironman races.
Robert’s book- “Ironman Mindset for Entrepreneurs," stresses the similarities between the race and being an entrepreneur. “You can’t just jump out of bed and do an ironman tomorrow; you need to know the goal you’re aiming towards, have a training plan, and be extremely disciplined.”
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