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  • 3 days ago
Scale Tales From the Ground Up. The Business Infrastructure show Podcast Episode #213 Richard Blank

Curing back office blues. Growth is not a bad thing. But too much growth, too fast presents a set of challenges often overlooked when discussing small businesses. The emphasis tends to center on the marketing and promotion necessary to grow your business, and not on the operations and business infrastructure needed to scale your business in a sustainable manner. These back office operations can make or break your business. The Business Infrastructure show provides solutions and real life stories to owners and operators of fast growing small businesses seeking practical tips for dealing with growth spurts.

A few years after graduating from university, he accepted an offer to conduct training at a call center in Costa Rica. At 27 years old he decided to call Costa Rica home. That was over 20 years ago. And he never looked back. In this episode, Richard takes us on his journey as he leverages his advanced Spanish-speaking skills, business prowess, and emotional intelligence to build and scale Costa Rica s Call Center from a one-seat to a 300-seat operation.

While his friends pursued careers in fields like law, medicine, and technology, Richard Blank went in a completely different direction language. In fact, his love of language and communications led him to study abroad for one semester in Spain. That experience changed the trajectory of his life.

Discover how Richard used a cash-only approach to invest in the business infrastructure required to lay a foundation for sustainable growth, his tips for reducing attrition, and why he urges entrepreneurs to act their wage. Growth is not a bad thing. But too much growth, too fast presents a set of challenges often overlooked when discussing small businesses. The emphasis tends to center on the marketing and promotion necessary to grow your business, and not on the operations and business infrastructure needed to scale your business in a sustainable manner. These back office operations can make or break your business.


https://youtu.be/qw09sFl1DZU
https://youtu.be/Gpq-w_WWdn8
https://youtu.be/Cf1PDpZu67M
https://youtu.be/It9x2zUkxC8
https://youtu.be/TYSM3A8Wlx0
https://youtu.be/DG1TJ9JcS0k
https://youtu.be/Kg_qKh-mqxU
https://youtu.be/rBmgKSYfl7A
https://youtu.be/yYqbU9t9wm8
https://youtu.be/7MS_otvgGT4
https://youtu.be/nHvXMgWDlBA
Transcript
00:00And over the course of six years, I saved enough money to be able to purchase
00:04a three-floor building that can house 300 agents.
00:09And so I did this without any sort of loans or partners or mortgages
00:14because I don't like paying interest.
00:16The year is 2008.
00:19Richard lands his first client and eventually grows and scales Costa Rica's call center
00:23from one seat to 150 on up to 300 seats.
00:30I'm sure you're wondering how he achieved this kind of scale in just six years
00:33without seeking outside investments.
00:36Don't go anywhere because after the break, Richard will share the details of how he did it
00:41and how he sustains it.
00:50You started your business because you believed you could make a difference.
00:54But now you have more demand than you can keep up with.
00:56And if you don't get your operations in order soon,
00:59you could lose everything you've worked so hard to build.
01:03The chaos is causing angry customers, bad reviews, failed audits, and more.
01:07So I started your business.
01:08You're doing it.
01:08I'm looking back.
01:08Stop.
01:08You

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