Today we’d like to introduce you to Ross Paterson.
Ross, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I started my leadership journey serving as an Infantry Officer in the US Army, where I culminated in my career as a company commander in the 101st Airborne Division. I didn’t know I was an entrepreneur trapped in bureaucracy, so I left the Army and joined General Electric. GE trained me as well in the business world as the Army had trained me in leadership; so many great leaders, teams and assignments that kept me engaged and learning. After spending four years leading operations, quality, and manufacturing teams at General Electric, I was promoted to lead a $20M a year joint venture in Fort Worth, TX called GE Sports Lighting Systems.
This joint venture assignment introduced me to live in and around the small business community. Most of my clients and suppliers were business owners, and soon they inspired me to jump out of the corporate life. I flexed my own entrepreneurial muscles with the startup of a faith-based non-profit called Global Fusion. Our purpose was to inspire, train, mobilize, and engage networks to serve the least served in tough areas of the world. We have helped instigate new work in Indonesia, Nigeria, Algeria, and Haiti, but, our long term passion and engagement have been in Afghanistan. A few years later I finally realized I was an entrepreneur and I started my first business. I have now owned and operated several small businesses in multiple industries, but my favorite is XM Performance. XM stands for Xtra Mile, we are passionate about making small and medium businesses the best places to work in America.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Starting my own business has not been easy. When I first started XM Performance, I had a friend who became my 50/50 business partner. His background was marketing and sales, so he was going to work on business development. I was going to focus on the coaching and consulting, plus, continue operating my non-profit 50% of the time. Only four months in, he gave up, leaving me with his half of the business. But, with no revenue and no pipeline, I was in trouble. With very little sales experience, I was stuck, if I was going to make this business succeed, I had to learn sales.
So, I took my own coaching prescription and invested in a consultative sales Bootcamp, followed by several months of coaching. Ten years later, I am so happy I did. My consulting business has continued to grow and I now have a team of seven helping us deliver Xtra Mile results to the small and medium business markets.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the XM Performance story. Tell us more about your work.
We have this aspirational vision: What if we could make Small/Medium Businesses the best places to work in America?
XM Performance is a boutique consulting, training, and coaching firm. Our intense desire is to shorten learning curves and drive profitable growth while reducing the fear, pressure, and pain for the Business Owners.
Our uniquely versatile approach and talented team of professionals doesn’t have to depend on a one-size-fits-all approach. We can build custom programs to unlock the full potential of almost any team. We spend the majority of the time in these four areas.
Driving year over year profitable growth: Grow revenue, gain efficiency, and reduce costs. If we can’t affect your financial performance, you can have your money back.
Creating Strategic and Day-to-Day Clarity: Planning, communicating, delegating, and leading the team to new levels of engagement. Relieve the stress/pain of ownership by shortening the list of things ‘only you can do’ and building an engaged team that delivers results.
Build an Xtra Mile team: Help the owner evolve in his/her role, assist in building and training the leaders that will drive the growth and sustainability of the business.
Solving your toughest problems: Poisonous partnerships, family business transitions, dysfunctional teams, underperforming employees, exhaustion, overwhelmed, stuck, frustrated. A decade of experience and hundreds of businesses served means we can bring you fresh ideas and proven solutions for your most pressing problems.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
We used to have a saying in the Army, ‘hope is not an approved military strategy.’ I don’t really think luck, good or bad, has a play in business either. Every break we have had has been from persistence over time. If you pay attention, make smart adjustments, and really listen to your clients and the market, you will have plenty of good luck.
After traveling the world for non-profit work, I would say that I was blessed (lucky) to be born in America. Inspite of our many flaws, the freedom, and opportunity we enjoy are like nowhere else in the world.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1090 Texan Trail, Grapevine, TX 76051
- Website: www.xmperformance.com
- Phone: 817-847-0282
- Email: ross.paterson@xmperformance.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/xm_performance
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/XMPerformance/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/rossxmp
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rosspaterson/
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