We recently connected with Tab Pierce and have shared our conversation below.
Tab, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you scale up? What were the strategies, tactics, meaningful moments, twists/turns, obstacles, mistakes along the way? The world needs to hear more realistic, actionable stories about this critical part of the business building journey. Tell us your scaling up story – bring us along so we can understand what it was like making the decisions you had, implementing the strategies/tactics etc.
As a serial entrepreneur with multiple businesses scaling comes in different flavors. However, there’s a key component each has in common. That’s the need for clients, revenue, and raving fans. With Caliber Security Partners the order sizes are large, the clients are large and the sales cycle is often long. With Networked Live the order size is small, clients are individuals or small businesses and the sales cycle can be immediate. But again, the key component is the same. It all comes down to people, be that an individual or a committee.
There’s a myriad of new technologies we can turn to to accomplish scaling and growth. We can look at the latest developments in AI, marketing, lead generation, etc…and we do. However, what’s often overlooked in scaling and growth are older methods that are deemed slower and, thus less desirable. For example, there are over five million podcasts and only 7,000 magazines in print. But people flock to podcasts, a saturated platform to get their messages out. What if we were to do both? Could we use one for digital and immediate delivery of content, while building a library and use the other to mail out to larger and more valuable clients? How many magazines are they receiving now? If they’re like me, the answer is none.
What about face-to-face vs. digital contact such as email, messaging, and AI? Can we meld both together to increase the likelihood of in-person meetings? People constantly tell us that since the pandemic people are reluctant to meet, however, we hold events for both companies that regularly get a combined one thousand or more people out monthly. Each month those events bring us new clients, revenue and raving fans.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My mantra has been to accelerate, seek growth, diversify into new industries and technologies, and seek personal development in areas that challenge the mind and what others want to try and box me into. There will be 20-year-olds that will retire before I do, not because I can’t, but because I won’t.
When I hear people talk about creating an elevator pitch my thought is I’d rather create an image by being so visible that when I step onto an elevator I don’t need to tell them, they already know. That’s a massive, audacious, and ego-filled goal. But how good are elevator pitches anyway?
Plus, when asked what I do I often have a challenge on what exactly do I choose? Do I discuss cyber security? Coaching, mentoring, and training? Public speaking? How about being an author? If it’s that, which book? Do I speak about being an event creator and promoter? What about the fledgling time investment into solar?
I’m an entrepreneur and creator.
This is all my craft of choice. I’m a true believer that I can create and do anything, as long as I have enough time and an interest. This was developed when I was younger, I had amazing parents, and both were government workers with a healthy level of scarcity mindset. I loved my parents. But, I would see my mother pawn her wedding ring month after month. See my dad hating his job at the penitentiary where he spent 20-plus years. I would see my parents come home from work, eat dinner, and then watch TV and fall asleep in front of the TV before finally waking up and going to bed. I saw my father retire, only to pass away a month before it was official.
I’m now the age my father was when he died. I’m humbled by the legacy he left for me and some of the final words he had with me in our last one-to-one dinner. I wish I was more, that I had done more.
Those memories drive me.
I’m the founder of Caliber Security Partners, a 15-year-old cyber security services firm.
With my wife Catherine, we’re the owners of Networked Live, Arizona’s largest business community where we hold events and perform coaching, mentoring, and training services for individuals and companies.
I’m the author of Upsurge: Wreckage to Triumph, Rebuilding Your Personal and Business Life and Outlast Everything.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
Several years ago, after a series of corresponding events I found my security company, and me personally, a million dollars in debt. The realization of this happened almost overnight, and although the events took a lot of time to come together, my awareness of the severity happened slower. I was left with feelings of being a failure, a fake, and a fraud. What made me think I could run a business?
My first thought was to turn to peers for advice, which mostly consisted of closing the doors, filing bankruptcy, and finding a job. However, owing the IRS $250,000 that wasn’t an option. The goal? Pay the IRS off and then file bankruptcy. But through that process, I became good at business reformation, recovery, and rebuilding. So I created a pathway through the debt. Much of that was through a program I created called the Opportunity Pipeline. It was a way to see the future with clarity, people can now access it for free at theopportunitypipeline.com. It wasn’t perfect, but the goal of paying off $1,000,000 in 24 months turned out to be 26 months.
Let’s move on to buying businesses – can you talk to us about your experience with business acquisitions?
Over the years I’ve acquired three businesses. My suggestion to people looking to acquire businesses is to have a solid plan. Mine includes I never pay anything out of pocket, I only pay over time and ideally through revenue generated by the company. Payout of the purchase needs to be over several years. The business has to have a massive upside, it doesn’t need revenue value at the moment of purchase. My targets are companies that are not easily sold, with little value to a larger organization, but value to someone hungry with a vision.
The first business was one with several master service agreements with enterprise companies, but zero revenue from them. It was a security business where both owners were unable to maintain their lifestyle from the business. They had contacted me early with an offer, one I couldn’t accept. My suggestion was to go out and search for their ideal buyer, but if they couldn’t find it come back when they were willing to be creative. When they came back they were willing to listen, the result was an offer for $50,000 paid out in two years. That acquisition has netted Caliber Security Partners millions over subsequent years.
The second business acquisition went against my plan. It resulted in me giving away 31% of my security company at purchase. It was ill-thought-out and was part of the reason we went into $1,000,000 in debt. Ultimately, my business partner left, I took back ownership, took on all the debt, and killed that division. It nearly ruined me because of greed and a poorly thought-out merger with existing services.
The third I went back to the plan. We purchased over a two-year period payout. The revenue the company had wasn’t enough to cover the payout, however, the existing membership services weren’t what we were after. It was the community membership and the growth opportunity. We’re 18 months into a 24-month payout and it has been absolutely worth it.
The goal should be to choose acquisitions that excite you, and those where there is a clear path to reach the revenue goals only you can see. Don’t let greed and unrealistic visions play into it.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.calibersecurity.com and www.networkedlive.com
- Instagram: thetabpierce
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tab.pierce
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thetabpierce
- Twitter: thetabpierce
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thetabpierce
