How to build a profitable business using natural justified growth

“We believe in breaking the rules. We believe in bucking the trends. We believe in Living Different.”

These words are emblazoned on the Wildland Coffee website, and they capture the spirit and strategy that CEO, Zach Frantz, has used to build and grow his business. Tempered with experience and rationality, this unconfined mindset has made Wildland Coffee a reliable business that caters to an overlooked and lucrative customer base. His central creed is to grow organically and maintain profitability. He asked how can you be profitable when you’re big if you can’t prove yourself when you’re small. His departure from established norms can be seen in his branding, team building, and marketing.

The Power of Organic Growth

When thinking of any well-known business, the things that immediately come to mind are the essence of the brand. Whether it is jingles, logos, mascots, menu items, or the clientele, many corporations and businesses seek to create a rewarding brand, which generates a flood of images and memories that encourage a consumer to choose their product over a competitor. In fact, many people view the brand as synonymous with the business it represents. It is difficult to argue with anyone actively pursuing a recognizable and memorable brand. The sight of McDonald’s arches can send a car full of kids into a frenzy, that will only be satiated by Happy Meals. Chevy and Ford owners proudly bash each other, with a lifetime dedication to their vehicle of choice. The same can be seen between Miller and Budweiser. Businesses that have nothing to do with interior decorating or apparel can sell mountains of novelty mirrors, lamps, rugs, shirts, and hats. A good brand can capture a loyal customer base while opening opportunities for merchandising and other partnerships.

Despite all the benefits listed above and the encouragement of numerous mentors and colleagues to develop a brand, Frantz knew that the cost could cripple his business before it had a chance to start. Hiring a market analyst and graphic designer to develop logos, mottos, and fonts, buying t-shirts, stickers, and hats to give away, and purchasing ad space are all expensive investments without any immediate return. Frantz stated that his previous venture fell victim to exceeding its boundaries in this way, hence his propensity to natural, justified growth. He also understood that these brands didn’t magically materialize overnight. They earned their reputation over years of business and millions in sales, which some people can forget or take for granted. In line with this thought, he focused on a very specific product for a very specific audience. In this case, convenient and tasty coffee for outdoor enthusiasts. This decision was not made hastily or impulsively. Frantz knew the people he was targeting. He understood their interests, their frustrations, their budgets, and how to endear his coffee to fit their active, outdoor hobbies and lifestyles. From his passion and his subject matter expertise, his brand would organically emerge from continued exposure and customer interaction, as the number one coffee brand for outdoor enthusiasts.

Collective Knowledge and Skills

Another topic that arises is that many successful entrepreneurs tout the crucial importance of a solid team for growing a business. It is not uncommon for a CEO to directly credit their company’s prosperity to the effort and knowledge of those who work for them. When faced with an unfamiliar problem or an ever-expanding list of obligations, many people immediately seek out workers with the skills to fill the gaps that they cannot. Aside from issues requiring reaction, fresh eyes and differing viewpoints are often the source of proactive measures. This can help in a multitude of ways, such as finding new customers, reducing costs, or generating brand interest. There is no shortage of success stories, where massive credit is bestowed upon the team, and the business leader charged headfirst into growing their team.

However, this is another area where Zach breaks from the crowd. He is in no hurry to start hiring people, until the growth and profits demand it. Currently, he single-handedly manages all aspects of Wildland Coffee, performing all day-to-day tasks with his own hands. He stated that team building will happen once he can no longer scale, and as long as there is a direct return on this investment. As mentioned before, many company leaders default to finding those workers who are strong where they are weak, often at the first sign of difficulty. This has a domino effect. Costs for desks, phones, and renting office space increase. Hiring people to support the front-line workers drives up overhead, such as pay roll accountants and human resources to name a few. Frantz understands that this is a pitfall, if the demand doesn’t justify the cut into the profits. A second motivator is a desire to learn. Frantz embraces the challenge to become proficient in the areas of business where he is inexperienced. He believes a good boss must understand the processes and struggles that each employee faces. In a way, organic growth in his capabilities is just as important as the organic growth of Wildland’s profits. That is not to say that Frantz doesn’t utilize the expertise and reach of other people. He has sought out other entrepreneurs for mentorship, as well as engaging experts on Linkedin. Through these connections, he is able to leverage a wealth of knowledge and great ideas, from outside his organization.

Precise Advertising Expenditure

Another crucial field in expanding a business is marketing. The amount of reverence corporations place on advertising and outreach is impossible to miss. Anywhere from 15% to 25% of television time is dedicated to commercials. This is even being seen in places that were once thought free from their influence, such as movie theaters or premium cable channels. Entire networks, like the QVC, exist for vendors to showcase their products to potential consumers. Newspapers and magazines are loaded with ads, and countless billboards line the streets and highways of countries around the world. Although market research and targeted campaigns are used, it is clear that businesses take a shotgun approach to gaining views and traffic, all in the pursuit of making sales. The amount of money spent is staggering. Sometimes this investment pays off, but it can be a major risk for newer companies with smaller budgets.

Frantz understands the limitations he has for investing in advertising and has done so in a cautious and calculated manner. This includes purchasing Amazon ads, where he mitigated his risk, by controlling his spending. Coordinating with Youtubers and other social media influencers was also a method to get Wildland Coffee in front of new potential customers. Overtime, he turned these agreements into more formal partnerships, making sure they yielded a certain return on investment. Establishing a detailed plan ensured that ambition and overly optimistic projections wouldn’t eat into his profitability. Along side these advertising efforts, Frantz engaged in a traditional, grass roots outreach, calling vendors and wholesalers. This also included attending events and conventions for outdoor enthusiasts, and directly engaging attendees. Through these interactions, he was able to overcome two major obstacles to his product, namely confusion and skepticism. Wildland’s products are a new, unique style of coffee, utilizing single use bags that are more a line with tea. After educating people on the product, they naturally became skeptical of the quality, which Frantz was able to quickly assuage.

Unorthodox Avenues of Success

Despite his unorthodox stances or counterculture approach to these critical business elements, Frantz has developed a successful method to grow his business. His desire to grow organically, with his brand, with his sales, and with his own skills, has placed Wildland Coffee on a steady, reliable path to becoming a highly respected and sought-after product for his target audience. He is a firm believer that there is no single path to success, which has empowered him to break rules, buck trends, and grow his company the way he sees fit. His final words of wisdom were,

“the contradictory voices in one’s head are a creation of their own, and they don’t have to listen to them.”

Based on his decisions and the benefits he has reaped, he has shown that he didn’t have to listen to the contradictory voices outside his head, even when their intentions were good.