A Case Study on Expansion
Calistan recently completed a project for an Austin non-profit with an eye on expansion. It was a 4-month engagement for a company focused on workforce development, a provider of pre-apprentice training for students to enter the skilled trades. It addressed questions of readiness for expansion, where to go, and how to get there. This is a great example of our work, as it included examples of some services we offer to clients—strategic planning for growth, developing new business relationships, and improving internal operations.
Analyzing the Market
After confirming their business model and timing was right for expansion, a big priority was to identify and justify the right location to do so. In this case, we conducted a thorough analysis of area employers, the trades that hire their graduates. These are the consumers of their services, and clearly critical to the success of a new location. We worked with trade associations, economic development groups, city and county organizations to both find the data, validate and verify it. Nothing was taken for granted. Ultimately the employer data told a compelling story that pointed to a staged expansion to two nearby locations. The data pointed us to a practical approach with limited risk. Ultimately, we delivered the resulting data on a map via an online visualization tool. The non-profit is now using this powerful technology in their on-going operations to create and manage new employer relationships.
Building Relationships
Once a target location was identified, the focus turned to engaging local stakeholders to confirm local support for expansion. Non-profits largely exist to serve their local community. Hence, we worked to identify all entities that might impact expansion to that community. This required creating content, positioning, and introducing our client to these stakeholders. We acted as part of our client to create awareness and look for obstacles. We captured important feedback to shape the timing and process for expansion. One meeting led to another, which resulted in 15+ stakeholder meetings. Perhaps most important, this laid the initial groundwork for building important relationships. These are now identified and positioned to re-engage when the expansion formally gets underway.
Creating a Roadmap
Part of the real challenge for this client was to update their internal operations to support moving from a local to a regional non-profit. This was a big change. While the client was ready for expansion, they lacked the operational capacity to do so. This involved making better use of existing resources, implementing new processes, and selectively adding positions. The resulting recommendations were far reaching. Examples included revising the board of directors, creating a “branch operations and governance manual”, implementing an annual operating plan process, and hiring for new positions to headquarter staff. And all associated recommendations were captured in a proposed implementation timeline to serve as a guide for carrying out all activities related to the proposed expansion.