By Gary Beckwith
In this compelling article, entrepreneur Gary Beckwith shares four foundational strategies for sustainable business growth, drawn from decades of real-world experience. More than a personal journey, the piece offers a clear message: lasting success comes not from trends or luck, but from understanding your customers, refining operations, and staying true to core principles.
If you spend half a century doing anything, you’ll witness many changes. Think about these now ubiquitous job roles for a minute: Social Media Manager, App Developer, Uber Driver, anything in e-commerce. Fifty years ago, none of these were a thing. Now, they take up at least half the tables in your local coffee shop.
When I was a kid, we’d have milk delivered by horse-drawn carriage, and we had a great banter with our chimney sweeper. Anyone under the age of forty probably thinks I’m joking.
The world moves faster than we can imagine, and, like memories, some lessons are lost in time. But when you untangle yourself from specific roles and the latest widgets or services a company is offering, the principles of business are always the same. Whether you sold fax machines in the ‘80s or iPhones in the noughties, there’s a blueprint for growth for anyone to follow.
Let’s assume you don’t have the capital (or even the desire) for acquisitions and mergers. There are four ways to grow your business that you can implement immediately, and these will serve you just as well today as they will fifty years from now.
1. Get New Business (of the type you want)
Getting new business goes without saying; it’s the bit in brackets I want you to focus on. It has to be the right customer. If a client treats you poorly, offers less than your asking price, and always pays late, they’re not the right customer. The time and energy drained from your soul in these relationships will be much better served if it’s poured into finding people you enjoy working with and who know your worth.
When we took over Gillingham Marina, we got to know our current customers and zeroed in on the ones best suited for our business. They were real boat enthusiasts and either owned one or sailed semi-regularly. They’d generally gone through life’s cycle: work, kids, and were now close to retirement. Once we’d collected useful information, we could put a compass on a map (not literally) and draw an arc around our business. Everyone fitting that description within a 60-mile radius of our site became a potential customer.
2. Get Your Customers to Spend More
We had a fuel barge on the River Thames in the late 1970s, but we quickly realised we couldn’t make enough money just filling boats with diesel. We started thinking about what else our customers needed. These vessels were out on the river all day, so by the time their crews got to us, they were out of drinking water, toilet roll, or cigarettes. How can I cure this pain? I thought.
I whacked up some shelves and filled them with long-life beer, crips and fags. We were no longer a fuel barge; we were an Oasis in the desert. London’s first floating cash n carry.
I take inspiration from everywhere, and perhaps one of my biggest ever learnings on this was when I was halfway through a Big Mac. I looked around the restaurant and realised: No one comes in here for a bag of chips. Even if you have the intention of a quick cheeseburger, almost every time, you spend the extra 70p for a meal. Mcdonald’s is the master of the package deal, and whatever your opinions of fast food are, you can learn from it. I took this lesson back to the barge and into every business I’ve had from then on. Why sell someone a river cruise when you can charge more and include a meal, drinks and a window seat?
3. Get Your Customers to Come Back
The hardest thing to do in business is win new customers; the last thing you want to do is alienate the ones you have. Back on the barge, I created a networking space for the captains while their boats were being refuelled. I got so savvy with the timetable that I’d always make sure that great mates were refuelling at the same time. Every day, we’d have people there sharing stories, laughing and not wanting to leave.
At Gillingham Marina, we put a lot of emphasis on our facilities; we’ve got ample parking, a cafe, incredible views of the River Medway, a spa, dance studios and spin classes. Our boat owners can have repairs on-site, and while the work’s being done, they can meet up with their friends in the bar or hit the treadmill. We’re always hoping they will try new things and meet new people because if they do, they’ll likely have a great experience, tell their friends, and, ultimately, keep coming back.
4. Improve your Processes
I can imagine some people sighing at this, but as a business owner, every time you’re working IN the business, as opposed to ON it, your company loses value. If you want clients to trust you, your staff to stay put, and someone to buy you one day, processes are what brings it all together.
If an employee calls in sick, has an accident, or gets fired, it’s all the same problem: There has to be a process that somebody else can follow in their absence. You can’t just “tell someone who tells someone” and hope nobody misses anything. Even something as simple as a salesperson receiving a signed contract from a client: Who checks the numbers are correct? Who countersigns it and sends it back to the client? Who generates the invoice? Who chases the deposit?
If you’re the owner, you can’t assume people will know what’s in your head. What if you’re on holiday or in hospital for a few days? You have to operate with the mindset that if it’s not written down, it doesn’t exist. Every task in your company should be in somebody’s job description. Only then can you begin to separate yourself from the day-to-day running, grow your business and reach your potential.
Gary Beckwith
