Entrepreneurship Journey shared by Craig Taylor, the Founding father of Seven Corporations

“Don’t wait till every little thing is ideal! My major recommendation is to get began. You need to bounce in.”- Craig Taylor advises budding entrepreneurs.

Craig Taylor, the founding father of seven corporations  (with the choice investments enterprise), established a basis to provide mentorship, scholarships, and publicity to the power and monetary industries in a performance-based ambiance to motivated college students in Houston.

On this interview, Craig Taylor shares his ideas on advertising and marketing strategies for companies promotion, tips about producing practical concepts, hiring staff, and success in enterprise with Enterprise Upside.

Edited Excerpts from the Interview:

Enterprise Upside [BU]: How did you get your thought or idea for the enterprise?

Craig Taylor [CT]: My first enterprise was a boutique power buying and selling brokerage agency, Atlas Commodities. I went into the army, then into regulation, then into buying and selling out of school. Previous to my profession in commodities, I labored on the authorized aspect of the finance sector for White & Case, LLP in New York Metropolis. I started working for a regulation agency after which labored on Wall Avenue. I gained over 20 years of expertise in finance and power as a commodities dealer. I acquired the concept to begin my buying and selling operation when the New York Mercantile Alternate was going digital; due to this fact, there weren’t a whole lot of limitations to beginning that enterprise. It went from all main companies on the buying and selling ground doing open outcry to brokering on-screen, which leveled the taking part in subject to begin a enterprise. It was a real alternative to leap in and play on the identical degree as the massive companies. 

Managing contacts and creating relationships with multi-national banks, power corporations, and authorized specialists gave me the inspiration I wanted to construct my ventures. A fellow Navy veteran good friend launched me to a different line of enterprise providers associated to a totally unrelated power vertical, primarily for utility corporations, referred to as vegetation administration subject providers. Figuring out the chance to develop and develop new enterprise ventures, I leveraged my connections from throughout the power worth chain with the formation of Atlas Retail Power and Atlas Subject Providers, deliberately diversifying the enterprise’ service choices. Though I didn’t know a lot about these traces of enterprise, I did carry necessary danger administration experience and abilities I may apply as a advisor. As soon as I partnered with our COO, Tejpal Singh, and the remainder of our specialists, we had a profitable mixture to service shoppers with a special strategy: a way more cohesive and strategic one. We carry a way more complete view to enterprise than a lot of the rivals in our area, who sometimes solely are specialists in a single facet of their enterprise line.

Enterprise Upside [BU]: What was your mission on the outset?

Craig Taylor [CT]: My mission on the outset of all of the 4 enterprise traces I’ve began—starting from power brokerage to subject providers, power procurement, and tech-enabled infrastructure inspections—has been to construct long-term legacy-based companies. I by no means deliberate to begin companies to simply promote them. I’ve at all times aimed to offer providers to shoppers from a boutique perspective that focuses on excellence in efficiency with robust firm tradition. That’s how we’ve been in a position to break the mould in offering extremely sought-after providers. In the present day, the suite of companies is a multimillion-dollar portfolio with greater than 4 hundred staff throughout seven U.S. places of work.

I did at all times have lofty expectations of constructing an enterprise, and I consider an entrepreneur, in that sense, is remarkably much like an artist. First, you will need to develop a pointy imaginative and prescient in your thoughts’s eye. Then, you go after it and make it a actuality.

Enterprise Upside [BU]: How do you market what you are promoting, and which methodology has been most profitable?

Craig Taylor [CT]: Our enterprise is primarily marketed by phrase of mouth and consumer referrals. We’ve constructed a fame within the industries we serve by understanding our shoppers and our relentless dedication to excellence. Our gross sales cycles are lengthy; due to this fact, we foster relationships by way of direct connections, bidding processes, participation in trade occasions, thought management content material creation, web site/search engine marketing (search engine marketing), PR, social media, and lead sourcing. We leverage a CRM (buyer relationship administration system) to handle and nurture our gross sales pipeline and current consumer base. Nonetheless, our strongest advertising and marketing instrument is every of the people who work for our firm. The best way they characterize our values, what they are saying about our group, and what’s mentioned of them speaks a lot louder than any advertising and marketing asset can.

Enterprise Upside [BU]: What is exclusive about what you are promoting?

Craig Taylor [CT]: What’s distinctive about our enterprise in our strategy towards points which have been round for over a century is that we have now a staff of various professionals who’re the perfect of their subject and produce distinctive views to danger mitigation and administration (authorized, finance, human assets, operations, expertise, communications). We’re agile in our strategy, and we’re continuously reengineering the right way to ship our providers smarter, extra effectively, extra sustainably. We intention to positively influence the communities we serve and depart a legacy of pros who’re pleased with the work we do and the way they go about it. What distinguishes are the cultural values that information our T.E.A.M.S.: transparency, excellence, agility, meritocracy, and security.

Enterprise Upside [BU]: How do you generate new concepts?

Craig Taylor [CT]: We generate new concepts as a staff. We’re massive followers of whiteboards! Sometimes, the COO and I bounce concepts off one another and obtain enter from our groups. We’re massive believers in transparency, which is the primary of our values… all staff members contribute their concepts to the larger image. They aren’t afraid to talk up or give you improvements or extra agile strategies to get the work performed effectively and safely, all our anticipated degree of excellence. They’re additionally secure to return ahead with suggestions on what isn’t working effectively and enhance it.

We additionally generate new concepts by being keenly plugged in. It’s necessary to hear and know what’s happening, and that’s one of the best ways to determine ache factors and new alternatives within the market. My formal MBA training has helped form my lens for enterprise alternatives. Therefore, I’m at all times thinking about investing in new companies, at all times making use of the scientific and monetary rigor strategy. On the finish of the day, trial and error result in a few of my greatest concepts. 

Enterprise Upside [BU]: For those who had one piece of recommendation to somebody simply beginning out, what would it not be?

Craig Taylor [CT]: My high recommendation for somebody new to enterprise is: don’t wait till every little thing is ideal! My major recommendation is to get began. You need to bounce in. You possibly can’t attempt to create essentially the most excellent, manufactured scenario. Regardless of how a lot preparation you might have, you’ll run into hurdles. You need to begin, and you then can’t quit. You’re not going to know all of it once you start, but it surely’s significantly necessary to point out up and provides it your all. After that, the second most necessary piece of recommendation is to have grit. Don’t quit. You should have obstacles and can make some errors alongside the way in which. It is best to study from these alternatives and permit them to make you stronger. By no means be a sufferer. 

That is the recommendation I present all the students of the non-profit program I cofounded, referred to as Atlas Students. My entrepreneurial spirit and private path impressed cofounder, Tej Singh, and me to provide again to the subsequent technology of enterprise leaders by way of this program to supply motivated highschool college students a collection of three paid summer time internships that equip them with the onerous and comfortable abilities wanted for faculty preparedness and profession readiness. 

Enterprise Upside [BU]: What do you search for in an worker? 

Craig Taylor [CT]: Cultural match comes before everything. If we get alongside and share comparable approaches and values, we’ll cope with battle and attain our targets. I would like folks to work right here who need to be doing what they’re doing in this sort of group. The cultural mindset is prime. Our group is really distinctive as a result of we work onerous, and we additionally play onerous. We’re all dependable and relied upon. 

The second attribute I search for in an worker is motivation. It’s necessary to be passionate and devoted and to make an influence as a part of the staff. I search for robust {qualifications} and expertise as a result of I rely upon having an A-team for our enterprise components to work. I’m additionally very tuned into assessing comfortable abilities and integrity as a result of we do deeply rely upon every worker working effectively whether or not they’re on their very own or not. Every worker is predicted to self-audit themselves and at all times carry their greatest foot in our tradition. 

Enterprise Upside [BU]: Do you consider there may be some form of components or sample to change into a profitable Businessman?

Craig Taylor [CT]: Sure… definitely, I’m satisfied a very powerful attribute to be good at enterprise is to be open-minded. You possibly can’t see alternatives for those who’re dogmatic. You need to stay open-minded to have the ability to see alternatives come throughout… One of the best examples are within the textbooks: consider Jeff Bezos… what would have occurred if he solely considered Amazon as a bookstore? An important attribute is to see alternatives that will require you to shift enterprise fully. Blockbusters and Barnes & Noble didn’t see the shift. In that sense, you’re required to have a way of humility. Do you need to achieve success, or do you need to be proper? You don’t need to hold utilizing the identical instrument if it’s not working.

Additional, by no means quit. The challenges that come up can’t be anticipated, nor will you want the talents to succeed. What’s essential is the flexibility to shake off the punches. I at all times quote Mike Tyson, “Everybody has a plan till they get punched within the face.” You’ll get punched within the face many occasions. Profitable enterprise folks should be decided to make the enterprise work, it doesn’t matter what.

The opposite components that’s essential is to have a strong monetary plan. That requires being extraordinarily disciplined in managing bills and reinvesting within the enterprise, even after the corporate has turned a revenue. Many new entrepreneurs make the massive mistake of spending on themselves too early within the new firm’s life as an alternative of trying on the long-term monetary viability of the enterprise. 

Enterprise Upside [BU]: What has been your most satisfying second in enterprise?

Craig Taylor [CT]: For me, essentially the most satisfying second in enterprise was after I felt that we had a collaborative and optimistic group. To have a hardworking staff that works cohesively—that has a collaborative strategy to unravel all issues—is really priceless. 

In any other case, one among my gratifying moments in enterprise was having supported one among our most necessary shoppers by way of chapter and being a devoted supporter for fellow contractors combating the scenario. It was extraordinarily rewarding to assist see them by way of such essential challenges and be a useful useful resource for all the ecosystem. Additionally, it’s been satisfying to hit our necessary benchmarks, resembling doubling our headcount, exponentially rising our workplace area, launching a brand new tech-enabled innovation firm leveraging drones (cleaner, safer, and extra environment friendly than conventional strategies), increasing our total operations to seven corporations.

Enterprise Upside [BU]: What motivates you to change into an Entrepreneur?

Craig Taylor [CT]: What motivates me to be an entrepreneur is that I can work with the folks I work with to go after challenges and industries we need to go after, versus being caught in a small field. The world is our oyster; we go after something that is sensible for us. That’s freedom, and it’s very engaging. It’s our alternative what we do every single day. It’s rewarding to contribute to our financial system by offering vital worth to the businesses we serve. I’m satisfied we accomplish this by approaching conventional companies with a contemporary perspective, hiring high staff, and offering rewarding careers and development alternatives, each on a private degree, as a result of their work is impactful, in addition to on knowledgeable and financial degree as a result of I consider in providing aggressive pay and advantages to get the perfect of the perfect.

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