When is it time to take back control?

Updated August 13 2014 - 5:08pm, first published July 31 2014 - 6:41am
Fergus Stodddard and Richard Parker
Fergus Stodddard and Richard Parker

For many growing businesses there are times when growth plateaus and only a radical shift will help it continue on an upward trajectory.

Too often, mergers and large investments can impose barriers to growth, layers of governance and pointless hoops to jump through to get anything done. Keeping your independence allows business to be more agile and reactive to the market.

It is for this reason that Edge strategy director, Richard Parker and I, as commercial director and founder, announced a management buyout of the Edge board. Even though we had attractive offers from larger agencies, we saw regaining control of the business as a strategic imperative.

Together we have a clear vision for the business, which this new board will enable us to achieve.

That is to lead Australian brands to think about content marketing and branded content in new ways and use it to reach audiences like never before. Content is revolutionising the way we communicate with consumers, and Edge is driving that revolution thanks to the flexibility independence allows.

The lead up to a management buyout

Edge has always been an outlaw in business; going against what is expected and doing what is right for our business and our clients. In 2007 we appointed Eddie Thomas as CEO to take Edge to the next level. In addition, we set ourselves up to be different to the publishers we were competing with by operating like a “best in breed” marketing agency. 

Handing over control wasn’t easy, but it meant my business partner at the time and I were able to be more externally focused and spend more time with clients. It also allowed us, as a business, to be close to client needs.

Seven years on, thanks to these decisions, Edge has grown exponentially and we have cemented ourselves as Australia’s leading content agency. We have in place a strong management system to allow us to still invest our time into our clients while taking back over the day to day management of the operation. 

Eddie’s strategic advice allowed the company to transition into a new period of growth, and we are now developing a new agency model which can constantly evolve to meet our business needs. That means driving change through the business by listening to clients and the market. To do this, we have to be more flexible and pursue change quicker. 

Picking the right financial partners is critical

As every business owner knows, entering into a business partnership is like entering a marriage – you need to have the same basic values, similar objectives and an understanding of each other’s commitment. In this regard, choosing the right financial partners is critical.

Richard and I saw a vision for the growth of the business and for us, right now, it was important for Edge to retain its independence as it allows us to be more nimble and responsive to the fast moving environment of digital and content marketing.

What this meant was bringing in financial partners who supported our vision, the strategic nouse and understood our forward-thinking approach. In Edge’s case, that was retail industry icon Steve Kulmar, chief executive of Retail Oasis, and Creative Oasis managing director David Stretch.

For us, the decision to appoint Steve and David to the board rather than join a bigger group, helps position the agency for continued growth and opens up a host of opportunities to weave great content into our offering.

Planning the transition period

Changing the dynamics of any business doesn’t happen right away and a tremendous amount of strategic planning goes into making a transition period as smooth as possible. Business owners need to consider whether additional staff is needed, if outgoing board members should be retained for a handover period, and are if new technologies are required to deliver additional services.

For Edge, months before we announced the management buyout, Richard I began taking on greater responsibilities in the business to help make the transition easier. We also looked strategically at our staff and employed a number of key personnel to bolster our creative and experiential offering.  

In addition, we made the decision to retain our outgoing CEO, Eddie, through the transition period, beyond which we have asked him to continue on in a consulting capacity. Richard and I have always respected Eddie’s counsel and we felt this was important to ensure stability.

The management buyout process is extremely demanding - it requires confidence in your own abilities, an understanding of the market, and the sheer will and determination to grow a business. That being said, there comes a time when you need to back yourself and take back control in order to steer the business to where it needs to be.

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