Greg Alexander from Collective 54 on Building and Scaling Boutique Firms

I am thrilled to have Greg Alexander, the founder of Collective 54, the first mastermind community for thriving professional services firms. Collective 54 helps founders and leaders grow, scale and exit their firms bigger and faster.

In this episode, Greg Alexander, founder of Collective 54 and author of The Boutique, shares his journey of building and scaling professional services firms. He explains the three life-cycle stages: Grow, Scale, and Exit, and the importance of moving away from trading time for money. Greg discusses the unique business model of Collective 54, monetisation strategies for boutique firms, the critical elements that make a firm sellable, and much more!

Timestamps

[00:02:30] - Inspiration behind writing The Boutique during the COVID-19 pandemic.

[00:04:15] - Explanation of the three phases of a boutique firm: Grow, Scale, and Exit.

[00:06:00] - Importance of moving away from trading time for money in monetization strategies.

[00:08:20] - Collective 54's unique model: mastermind community with monthly dues.

[00:09:45] - Retainers as a monetization strategy for marketing agencies.

[00:11:30] - Scaling professional services firms with technology and global talent.

[00:13:00] - The concept of leverage in professional services: increasing the ratio of non-partners to partners.

[00:14:45] - Example of a 100-to-1 leverage ratio in Collective 54.

[00:16:20] - Key differences between Collective 54 and other professional networks like Pavilion.

[00:18:00] - Collective 54’s focus: professional services, boutique firms (25-250 employees), and the owner.

[00:20:10] - Criteria that make a boutique professional services firm sellable.

[00:22:00] - Importance of diversified client base and growth metrics for attractiveness to buyers.

[00:23:45] - The role of private equity in acquiring boutique professional services firms.

[00:25:30] - Focus on North American market due to time zone challenges and market size.

[00:27:10] - Different growth strategies for communities like Collective 54 and Pavilion.

[00:29:00] - Collective 54’s member cap at 500 to maintain quality and meaningful connections.

[00:31:00] - Six key features of Collective 54: Network, Content, Events, Data, Software, and Coaching.

[00:34:00] - Future of professional services: increasing complexity and demand for expertise.

[00:35:30] - The shift towards gigification in professional services.

[00:37:20] - Advice for starting out in professional services: start with identifying a problem, not a solution.

[00:39:00] - Importance of selling painkillers (urgent problems) over vitamins (nice-to-have solutions).

Greg’s Links 

LDN– https://www.linkedin.com/in/gpalexander/

Website – https://www.collective54.com/

My Links 

Podcast: https://lifeselfmastery.com/itunes