This Alberta entrepreneur strengthens and accelerates the growth of his business through diversification
Posted: Tue Dec 10, 2024 8:38 am
Our client, Wade McLean , understands that it takes ingenuity, planning and teamwork to build a business that can thrive even when times are tough.
Every year, Wade McLean sits down with his team at Strongfield Environmental Solutions to take stock of the past year and reflect on opportunities for growth in the future.
Two years ago, one of his staff members mentioned that he had heard about drones being used for aerial spraying of vegetation in Asia. After some research, Wade McLean quickly realized that drones could complement the traditional sprinkler spraying activity that his Lacombe, Alta., company provides to its customers for weed control.
Using drones to spray in remote locations would not only save time and money, but also increase safety for staff members. Just as importantly, adding drones to Strongfield Environmental Services’ service offering would further diversify the company, making it more resilient to economic turbulence.
Always on the lookout for new possibilities
“We’re always looking for new ways to grow and evolve,” says Wade McLean. “ Diversifying what we do is extremely important to me, so I’m always challenging the team to look for new areas that can complement what we’re already doing.”
The oil price crash of 2008 convinced Wade McLean that his company was too exposed to the oil and gas industry. The successive downturns in the sector in 2014 and 2020 only increased his determination to diversify his business in a variety of ways.
It’s a very smart move, according to a new BDC survey of 500 business owners and decision-makers in Alberta and Saskatchewan. The survey found that diversified businesses were twice as likely as non-diversified businesses to have experienced strong revenue growth (more than 10% ) in the previous year.
Overall, 16% of companies that had diversified (by expanding into new markets, launching new products and services or expanding their customer base) experienced strong growth, despite a difficult year for the West.
Market expansion fuels growth
Strongfield is an example of a company that diversified and helped achieve strong growth. Wade McLean not only worked to expand its client list and service offerings, but also to expand its operations geographically.
He has opened offices in Medicine Hat, Alta., and Strongfield, Sask., the town near where he grew up on a farm and from which he named his company. Now he's looking to open a site in Regina and break into the U.S. market .
According to our survey, market expansion is a key diversification strategy for growing businesses in Alberta and Saskatchewan. Among diversified businesses, those that implemented a market expansion strategy by selling their products or services outside of Canada or establishing operations in more than one Canadian city were three times more likely than others to have experienced strong growth.
A first contract won thanks to telephone prospecting
Wade McLean , 38 , trained as a botanist at the University of Saskatchewan and began his career as an agronomist before moving to Alberta to work for agribusiness giant Cargill. In 2006 , he struck out on his own, initially operating on his own with a truck and a single sprayer.
He got his first spraying contract by cold calling Nova Chemicals in Calgary, which remains one of his major corporate clients. Shortly after, he branched out into environmental remediation and erosion control after completing construction projects to complement his spraying service.
"We continued to get new contracts because we were very careful about the quality of our work," he says . "We got ourselves known and were able to grow."
Today, Strongfield has 10 sprayers, two full fleets of shareholder database reclamation equipment and four unmanned drones. The company employs an average of 10 people , a number that varies depending on the season.
To further diversify his business, Wade McLean is now considering expanding his operations to the United States so that he can work there during the winter months in Canada. The idea came to him after a trip to Texas, where he realized the market opportunities around Houston.
The American market in the crosshairs
Wade McLean approached BDC Advisory Services for advice on international expansion. Rather than diving headfirst into a region, his advisor recommended he conduct a market study to determine where the best opportunities would be south of the border. The entrepreneur agreed and now hopes to start securing contracts in the United States this winter.
Still, he remains enthusiastic about drones, which he believes will revolutionize the spraying industry in Canada. While aerial spraying of herbicides is legal in the United States , it has not yet been approved by Canadian authorities. Wade McLean is working hard to change that, and has obtained approval to spray from drones for research purposes.
Pending full approval, it is using its drones to inspect facilities and reclamation projects as well as carry out seeding.
Building a more sustainable business
According to Wade McLean , by diversifying his business, he is focusing on providing more value to his customers. In this way, he is helping them while building a more resilient business for himself and his staff.
“This helps limit our risks and makes us more sustainable. I always try to be as strategic as possible in our operations to ensure long-term sustainability.”
Among diversified businesses, those that implemented a market expansion strategy by selling their products or services outside Canada or establishing operations in more than one Canadian city were three times more likely than their peers to have experienced strong growth (23% versus 8%).
We also note that a slightly larger proportion of companies that diversified their offerings were showing strong growth. These companies are characterized by the fact that they do not depend on a single product or service for more than a fifth of their revenues and that they serve more than one sector.
Wade McLean says his company has lost business due to the COVID pandemic, particularly from oil companies that have been forced to cut budgets. However, Strongfield has continued to grow by opening a new office and diversifying its product line.
“Frankly, the pandemic has hurt us a lot, ” he said . “But it’s also created other opportunities, and we’re actually making progress on all of that. A lot of companies can’t say that.”
Every year, Wade McLean sits down with his team at Strongfield Environmental Solutions to take stock of the past year and reflect on opportunities for growth in the future.
Two years ago, one of his staff members mentioned that he had heard about drones being used for aerial spraying of vegetation in Asia. After some research, Wade McLean quickly realized that drones could complement the traditional sprinkler spraying activity that his Lacombe, Alta., company provides to its customers for weed control.
Using drones to spray in remote locations would not only save time and money, but also increase safety for staff members. Just as importantly, adding drones to Strongfield Environmental Services’ service offering would further diversify the company, making it more resilient to economic turbulence.
Always on the lookout for new possibilities
“We’re always looking for new ways to grow and evolve,” says Wade McLean. “ Diversifying what we do is extremely important to me, so I’m always challenging the team to look for new areas that can complement what we’re already doing.”
The oil price crash of 2008 convinced Wade McLean that his company was too exposed to the oil and gas industry. The successive downturns in the sector in 2014 and 2020 only increased his determination to diversify his business in a variety of ways.
It’s a very smart move, according to a new BDC survey of 500 business owners and decision-makers in Alberta and Saskatchewan. The survey found that diversified businesses were twice as likely as non-diversified businesses to have experienced strong revenue growth (more than 10% ) in the previous year.
Overall, 16% of companies that had diversified (by expanding into new markets, launching new products and services or expanding their customer base) experienced strong growth, despite a difficult year for the West.
Market expansion fuels growth
Strongfield is an example of a company that diversified and helped achieve strong growth. Wade McLean not only worked to expand its client list and service offerings, but also to expand its operations geographically.
He has opened offices in Medicine Hat, Alta., and Strongfield, Sask., the town near where he grew up on a farm and from which he named his company. Now he's looking to open a site in Regina and break into the U.S. market .
According to our survey, market expansion is a key diversification strategy for growing businesses in Alberta and Saskatchewan. Among diversified businesses, those that implemented a market expansion strategy by selling their products or services outside of Canada or establishing operations in more than one Canadian city were three times more likely than others to have experienced strong growth.
A first contract won thanks to telephone prospecting
Wade McLean , 38 , trained as a botanist at the University of Saskatchewan and began his career as an agronomist before moving to Alberta to work for agribusiness giant Cargill. In 2006 , he struck out on his own, initially operating on his own with a truck and a single sprayer.
He got his first spraying contract by cold calling Nova Chemicals in Calgary, which remains one of his major corporate clients. Shortly after, he branched out into environmental remediation and erosion control after completing construction projects to complement his spraying service.
"We continued to get new contracts because we were very careful about the quality of our work," he says . "We got ourselves known and were able to grow."
Today, Strongfield has 10 sprayers, two full fleets of shareholder database reclamation equipment and four unmanned drones. The company employs an average of 10 people , a number that varies depending on the season.
To further diversify his business, Wade McLean is now considering expanding his operations to the United States so that he can work there during the winter months in Canada. The idea came to him after a trip to Texas, where he realized the market opportunities around Houston.
The American market in the crosshairs
Wade McLean approached BDC Advisory Services for advice on international expansion. Rather than diving headfirst into a region, his advisor recommended he conduct a market study to determine where the best opportunities would be south of the border. The entrepreneur agreed and now hopes to start securing contracts in the United States this winter.
Still, he remains enthusiastic about drones, which he believes will revolutionize the spraying industry in Canada. While aerial spraying of herbicides is legal in the United States , it has not yet been approved by Canadian authorities. Wade McLean is working hard to change that, and has obtained approval to spray from drones for research purposes.
Pending full approval, it is using its drones to inspect facilities and reclamation projects as well as carry out seeding.
Building a more sustainable business
According to Wade McLean , by diversifying his business, he is focusing on providing more value to his customers. In this way, he is helping them while building a more resilient business for himself and his staff.
“This helps limit our risks and makes us more sustainable. I always try to be as strategic as possible in our operations to ensure long-term sustainability.”
Among diversified businesses, those that implemented a market expansion strategy by selling their products or services outside Canada or establishing operations in more than one Canadian city were three times more likely than their peers to have experienced strong growth (23% versus 8%).
We also note that a slightly larger proportion of companies that diversified their offerings were showing strong growth. These companies are characterized by the fact that they do not depend on a single product or service for more than a fifth of their revenues and that they serve more than one sector.
Wade McLean says his company has lost business due to the COVID pandemic, particularly from oil companies that have been forced to cut budgets. However, Strongfield has continued to grow by opening a new office and diversifying its product line.
“Frankly, the pandemic has hurt us a lot, ” he said . “But it’s also created other opportunities, and we’re actually making progress on all of that. A lot of companies can’t say that.”