About

Hi.

I’m Jean-Eric Plamondon

I caught the business bug in university.

My first business was a College Pros painting franchise. This was an excellent experience for learning how powerful it is to have good systems in your business.

Running the painting business took up most of my time, energy, & interest – so when a marketing prof told the class that “the internet was a fad & wouldn’t last” – I trusted my own instincts & dropped out of school to DO business instead of learning about it at a theoretic academic level.

By the time I turned 31 I had owned and operated over 10 companies in the areas of recycling, import/export, e-commerce, painting, manufacturing, freight & logistics, special event lighting, and concrete mix on site manufacturing.

I had bought & sold 4 companies. The capstone was growing my scrap metal business from $0 to $5 million in 6 months.

That’s not to say that I don’t believe in getting an education.

Since then, I’ve invested at least $200,000 in learning business skills from mentors like John Warrilow (Built to Sell and Value Builder System), Michael Gerber (E-Myth), and Dr. Alan Weiss as well as obtaining certifications like my Certified Management Consultant. I’m currently studying AI at MIT.

Despite all the starting up…

I’m Not a Startup Person

When people look at my business history, they assume I’m the startup person.

In reality, I’m the type of person that will analyze a business, figure out what’s working really well (and what’s not working well), and then tune it up and improve it.

I’m good at identifying problems and solving them.

I’m good at spotting opportunities and capitalizing on them.

But mostly I’m a systems guy.

It’s my belief – backed up by direct experience – that a great business is a boring business.

• Revenue and sales are predictable.
• Product and delivery are consistent.
• Employee turnover is low.
• Operations run like a well-oiled machine.

Systems are the key

Growth, Scale, & Sanity

Some business owners find it exciting to constantly put out fires. It makes them feel smart and needed.

Good systems eliminate the source of the flames. They make operating the business boring.

But they also open the door to growth and scale

When you look at large successful businesses – McDonald’s, Amazon, Starbucks – you can immediately recognize that they were able to grow to that size because they run on systems.

In my mind, that’s where the real excitement lies.

When you have a business with solid systems, you can use your vision & energy to enter new markets, develop new product lines, and capitalize on exciting opportunities.

You also position your business to sell – so you can decide to get out of one business and into another.

Or you can leave your highly profitable cash generating machine of a business in the capable hands of someone else to run – while you go get your excitement in other areas of your life.

Why

Growth Strategy

When I look back over my career, I recognize that I was built to be a consultant all along.

I love fixing businesses, building systems, and creating strategic growth.

But because very few people (including myself if I’m honest) would trust a 20-something-year-old kid with their business – I had to start or buy my own businesses to get the practice.

When they noticed my success, people began to ask for my help and advice. And Growth Strategy was born.

Initially I intended the consulting to be a “break from building businesses” so that I could spend more time with my young son. But as one of my colleagues pointed out to me, “a consulting business IS actually a business!”

So in true Jean-Eric fashion, I have systematized and scaled my consulting company. Since launching in 2019, my team and I have worked with over 100 businesses.

The Values

I Run My Company By

Hear what’s being said, not what’s being heard – keep asking why

Align the culture with the Mission and Values of the company. Why we’re doing what we’re doing.

Discover (or create) the key “levers” in your company to put you in better control.

Create and continually refine internal systems that maintain accountability, drive efficiency, diminish errors, and eliminate mundane workloads.

Gamify the business: create valuable metrics and communicate them clearly and regularly.

Align people in roles where they are happy within the company. “Invest in people like they will stay forever, and build systems as if they will leave tomorrow.”

Let technology do the heavy lifting

Make it better – leave things better than how you found it, be helpful beyond what’s expected

Bravely step into the unknown

Work with

Growth Strategy

If you’d like our support in streamlining and systematizing your business so that you can scale – or even just to experience the joy of owning and operating a boring business – contact us for a free consultation. We’re here to help.