Brandon Dawson is a scaling and turnaround expert, business leadership mentor and business magnate whose objective is to “help business owners, their families and their teams achieve their personal, professional and financial goals through the growth of their business,” according to his bio on the Cardone Ventures website.
Dawson discovered the power of scale when he was 16 and living on his family’s five-acre walnut farm. Eager to complete his walnut-picking punishment as fast as possible, he looked to an unlikely source for assistance: the seniors at his high school, who were trying to raise $1,000 for their class trip. The students showed up in large numbers, and the whole arboretum was picked clean in two days. He barely touched a walnut. He was, however, on the verge of getting into trouble if he didn’t find the money for the seniors. His new issue? Finding a way to profit from the nuts. Dawson calculated a fair price, and to his surprise, many of the students’ parents bought the walnuts, allowing him to compensate the students for their efforts.
Dawson would go on to live with a newfound understanding, which would later become his passion. The more people you throw at a problem, and the more people there to present the solution, the bigger, better, faster and more productive you’ll be at getting it done. He didn’t even know what to call it. But the goal was to eliminate any friction or insecurity. He was doing the inner work.
Dawson listed his firm, Sonus, on the American Stock Exchange at 29, which makes him one of the youngest to do so. During his seven years as CEO and founder, he raised $20 million in strategic debt financing, $38 million in four equity deals, and acquired more than 100 businesses.
That was just the beginning. He soon discovered that his growth depended on how he could help independent business owners scale and expand their companies while maintaining full ownership and control, and exceeding their industry peer group by 3.5 to 15 times.
He expanded his new business, Audigy, “from $500,000 in revenue in 2005 to approximately $35 million in revenue in 2016” without borrowing or seeking outside capital. He would then team up with Grant Cardone, an iconic global entrepreneur and business tycoon, to form Cardone Ventures, which guarantees to assist companies in transforming and scaling to 10X levels. Businesses have increased by 30-50% simply by following their lead. Dawson had learned leadership skills in business and knew how critical it was. He was devoted to teaching his newfound traits to people that needed them. After all, only a good leader could take you into a business, through the business and finally show you the way out successfully. Nothing lasts forever. And Dawson said that if you wish to be an entrepreneur, your next business will be launched like you ended the previous one. You should continue to give your business the same amount of time, focus and effort you did when it was just starting, but in a new way.
Avoid becoming complacent to the point where you forget why you are an entrepreneur. It all starts with your entrance. You leave the same way you came in.
