“Making sense of mergers and acquisitions, performing market intelligence, or advising on human-resource strategies or project management — it's all part of the job for SBR International.”Source: Profit Magazine, June 2000 Author: Ian Portsmouth
“Profit 100: Canada’s Fastest Growing Companies”Innovators extraordinaire, the PROFIT 100 are your guide to success in the can't-stand-still economy. These companies experience growth that's more than dazzling — it's downright blinding. The average five-year growth rate of PROFIT 100 companies is an astonishing 4,271%. Or, put another way, the average PROFIT 100 company doubles its sales every 11 months. But, high tech alone doesn't necessarily equal high growth: the PROFIT 100 proves dot-coms have no monopoly on success. In fact, low-tech firms account for 56% of the PROFIT 100. And with average five-year growth of 4,408%, they're growing slightly faster than their high-tech cousins, who have managed to grow 4,098% since 1994. But the tech firms show their mettle on the bottom line: they scored an average profit margin of 10%, blowing away the 3.1% margin notched by their lower-tech counterparts. Where do Canada's Fastest-Growing Companies come from? B.C. contributes 13 companies; Ontario, 63 companies; Alberta and Quebec each count 10 companies; Atlantic Canada adds 3; Saskatchewan adds 1. Apart from owner-injected funds, 68 of Canada's Fastest-Growing Companies relied on chartered banks to provide capital. The next most popular source is public stock issues: this year 46 firms are listed on exchanges. The 2000 PROFIT 100 spend a hefty 8.1% of revenues on research and invest another 1.9% in employee training. And they're not afraid to seek outside help, whether a new source of ideas or advice on running the company even better. Fully 76 employ the assistance of formal or informal boards of directors or advisors, while 48 have paid for the help of professional management consultants. A few more trends are worth noting. This year's average PROFIT 100 company is larger than ever, with sales of $58.3 million and 380. This year business-services firms outnumber manufacturers, 32 to 28. (Although if you include our 19 software developers, making stuff is actually the business of just about half of the PROFIT 100.) The single most popular niche: supplying promotional products, provided by 5 companies. Seven companies offer consumer services; financial-services and media firms take 4 spots each. Rounding out the list are 3retailers, 2 construction companies and 1 natural resources firm. News from the jobs front is more positive than ever. In the past five years, PROFIT 100 companies have created nearly 20,000 positions. The PROFIT 100 CEOs told us they'd be creating 8,550 new jobs this year alone. Including acquisitions, the PROFIT 100 payroll has swelled 38,000 employees, from 3,600 in 1994. Managing growth is a problem: 63 said finding and keeping good people is an ongoing challenge. Speaking of CEOs, who are Canada's gurus of growth? While six are under 30 years of age, eight are 55 or over — proving that anyone can win in the innovation economy. But they're a well-educated bunch: fully 76 are university educated, and 28 of those completed post-grad studies. PROFIT 100 presidents pay themselves well — $312,355 on average — although in an increasing number of instances, company founders no longer run the show. In fact, 22 firms are run by hired guns — a reflection of the fast-growth firm's urgent need to have the best possible management. And while sole founders operate 35 more companies, 43 firms are currently run or were founded by partners. Making sense of mergers and acquisitions, performing market intelligence, or advising on human-resource strategies or project management — it's all part of the job for SBR International. The Toronto-based business-consulting firm counts Royal Bank, Bell Canada, Sears and Inco among its clients. With five-year growth of 3,964% — 1999 sales reached $4.9 million, up from $119,520 in 1994 — SBR debuts on the PROFIT 100 at No. 22. Founder and managing director Stevan Ralph sums up SBR's basic strategy: "We get our foot in the door by charging less and by being willing to take on smaller projects that big consultants usually pass on," he says. "We're a predatory pricer, as it's known in the business." SBR offers its services at half the price of major consulting firms. How? Unlike most management consultants, SBR has no partners to pay and employs an activity-based costing (ABC) model that detail each task and every hour devoted to projects, thus protecting clients from hidden or undue charges often associated with hourly and flat-rate billing. "We're just as good, otherwise we wouldn't be perceived as competing with them," says Ralph. Indeed, 80% of SBR's business is from repeat or referred clients. With a proven concept in hand, Ralph is now looking to franchise.  |
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