In his new book, Business Techniques for Growth: More Tools for Small Business Success, veteran executive and small business advisor Tom Gray distills decades of experience into a series of proven techniques that can help any small business owner succeed.
The book works like a “toolbox” of tips and techniques with step-by-step instructions. Readers can jump directly to a problem’s topic to find practical solutions, and return again and again when new issues arise.
“Jobs are the critical ingredient to sustain families and our budding economic recovery, and small businesses produce most of America’s new jobs. Small businesses growth is important!” says Gray. “But it’s not easy to build a growing and profitable business. As they choose their path to growth, owners face decisions and risks every day.”
Gray examines all the levers to grow profits, from revenue to employee performance to operations improvement. Plus, he offers practical tips for negotiating and decision-making, and closes with a guide to selling a small business.
Gray is a small business management consultant and MBA professor, as well as being certified as a Turnaround Professional, Business Development Advisor, and SCORE Mentor. Prior to consulting, his corporate career at Ameritech moved from operations to marketing, strategy, and international business development and M&A. Along the way he observed, gathered, and created a growing collection of management methods.
“Small business owners know they need to grow, but they also know resources are tight and there’s no cushion.” adds Gray. “They’re looking for the right way to grow, with the right balance of opportunity and risk. Business Techniques for Growth guides them through all the growth levers so they can choose the path to growth that fits them best and build successful companies that make America a better place to live.”
This book builds on Gray’s first book, Business Techniques in Troubled Times: A Toolbox for Small Business Success, designed for start-ups. Business Techniques for Growth continues the thread, targeting the need to build a sustainable and growing bottom line. Together, the two books form an invaluable set of clearly-explained real-world-tested solutions for growing a small business.
Thomas Gray is a small business consultant, author, and adjunct professor in MBA programs at three universities in Chicago, IL. He is certified as a Turnaround Professional, Business Development Advisor, and SCORE Mentor. His positions also include President of Telecom Expert Group, former interim CEO at two NASDAQ companies, former member of their Boards of Directors, and former Co-Chair of the Pro Bono Committee of the Turnaround Management Association, Midwest Region. His 30 year career at Ameritech included operations, marketing, strategy, international M&A and business development.
