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Business relies on a number of services needed for daily operations and growth. We have incorporated literally every tool needed into our structure for our own use, and offer out each of the services to clients and partners for use across their projects.
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Originally, since 1992, each and every service we offer was established within the company for our own use, then were marketed to outside clients. It's only since around 2005 that we started adding entities that were in any way disassociated with our core, yet they grew naturally out of the structure our ogginal platform created.
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Our first addition came with our graphic design being setup as an in-house task. This move was made out of frustration at not getting good results from outside services for our existing operations. This portion of the company grew in capabilities to match our needs by eventually adding photography, web design, and printing. These services were quickly marketed to outside clients under their own steam, and to this day continue to be growing parts of the company.
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One of the outliers to this inline progression came in the late 2000's when we branched out into yacht brokerage. Again, a move made due to the dissatisfaction with services available in our area.
The addition was not so strange, if everything was taken into consideration. John is a yachting enthusiast, and we had a structure to market the brokerage itself and the yachts for sale. It was also a perfect example of our being able to utilize our own structure to create a new company from the beginning.
The brokerage actually took off in its first year, and was one of the main catalysts that saw the company set up offices in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in 2008 in order to expand.
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Various operations were added as the company grew. Some were because of need by outside clients, and some were actually developed because they would benefit both us and them. For this, the publishing is a perfect example.
By 2013 the yacht brokerage side was becoming a major operation, and we were partnering with a group in Europe. At the time the cost of advertising in the existing yachting magazines was exorbitant, so the decision was made to start our own magazines. Not a great reach, as our graphics division had been carrying out publication design for clients for a number of years. To this day our yachting magazines are a success, have cut our advertising costs in this area of business to zero, and are an amazing communication tool that allows us to team up with other luxury item and service providers to reach a larger audience.
We have just entered another sector of this business as we enter the realm of book publishing. Again, a move made when we could find no satisfactory service available to us.
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Throughout our years of operation our consulting work grew by pure referral for the most part. As we carried out operations and became known for them or as notice was taken of one of our projects, and we were contacted with requests for proposals. This work went through some large periods of expansion during growth times such as the dot.com boom in the late 90's onward, and we carry out large amounts of work during down periods, with a great deal of restructuring work.
What this has taught us overall is that correctly and efficiently run companies can easily weather either of these periods without falling victim to the damage both bring. We also learned that the down times can be the periods where the greatest growth can be achieved.
We do not offer our consulting services lightly, taking great care in our work and acknowledging the responsibility trusted to us in advising clients. Having said that, it is some of the most satisfying work as we toil alongside business owners and starters to plan paths and reach goals as set.
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Call or e-mail, let us know of anything you'd like to see if we can work with you on. Or, stop by the offices for a coffee or wine.
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3290 St. Croix Trail S.
Afton, Minnesota 55001
+1 612.840.1754
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