Our process for helping you is as follows

Initial Meeting

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During this initial connection, it's not just down to business right away. We believe we need to connect as people first so we can understand how your business began, how it’s currently doing, and your plans for the future. Businesses are usually reflections of their founders, and so by supporting the founding members, we are consequently supporting the business.

We initially hope that our clients come to us with a Growth Mindset so that they see the situation they are in as not a fixed event, but rather a step in their growth. This mindset is possibly one of the most important things we like to establish prior to even starting the consulting services. With a growth mindset comes the perspective that challenges are opportunities for growth.

Needs Assessment

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Before we start heading into how we can help, we believe that research and knowing one’s playing field is crucial to success. We ask our clients to share with us information about their market, trends, etc. We also try to communicate with customers if our clients do have them, as well as employees to gage what kind of energy the company has and how to ensure everyone is a part of the growth.

Positive company culture is crucial to the success of the overall company. At times this is something that is overlooked, especially when a company is small. However as businesses grow and the employee base grows along with it, the lack of a positive culture can be the root cause for many issues.

Market Research

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This is one of the most important aspects of the consulting process because it informs all the planning and action items to come. The market is ever-changing as well and so we take it upon ourselves to provide our clients with detailed market research so we are able to identify the opportunities open to us. We recognize that in many cases, market research is done prior to starting a business as well, however as goals change, so do the things you’re researching and looking for.

In partnership with the market research, we also look into online markets and marketing opportunities. Whether it be a service or product based business you are looking to grow, everything we do comes back down to helping customers fulfill their basic needs. We look into how we can tap into these basic needs and inform them on the necessary nature of your service or product.

Believe us when we say, we’ve got big plans for you!

Collaborative Planning

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We avoid planning in silos because although you may have hired us to plan for your business, at the end of the day, it’s YOUR business. You are the main person looking for growth, you will be the main person making the changes and you will be the person leading the company once you no longer need the support of GDS Consulting.

When we plan, we offer our clients the opportunity to work in person or virtually. We can also meet in smaller groups or one on one. This is a flexible process that looks different to every team we work with. The focus is to ensure our clients are comfortable and feel empowered to make changes and grow their companies. We want to ensure that you see the potential in your company that we so clearly know is there. We will bring in various tools and strategies for planning and follow the flow of our clients.

When planning, we look into establishing specific goals, next steps and specific actions that can be accomplished. Our focus is on action. Simply doing research and knowing and dreaming is not success. Action reaps success.

Plan in Action

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This is the step where we start to see the fruits of our labour. All the research, discussions and planning are put into play. At this point, we have been able to establish a plan and are finally able to put into play some next steps. Whether it be building a more positive working culture or expanding into international markets.

We do not however just send you on your way to implement the plan we’ve laid out. We can if that’s what works, however we find that ongoing support and reflection are crucial steps to ensure we are moving ahead with the right plan and action. As it is with everything, we plan for specific things, however in action, it may not play out the way we hoped.

Plan in Action Reflection and Next Step

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Although this step is listed last, it takes place all throughout - especially during the plan in action phase as we take a step back to look at the work being done and assess its effectiveness. We believe that time is money. Time is energy. Time is invaluable. Therefore we do not want to waste any time doing things that might not be very effective. Reflection allows us as a team to address actions that may not be moving us toward our goals and reassess and revise our plans.

Reflection also requires a fair degree of self-criticism. This may be a challenge for some companies and it’s this part of reflection where the professionals of GDS Consulting come in. To clarify, we do not take on the role of criticizing. Instead we look for ways to guide our clients to reflect and address issues of their own. This is a skill set that will allow for future success. It’s like we all hear - “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”