WBB’s Dan Gahr: Three steps for small business growth in 2010
December 17th, 2009 by JD Kathuria
Today’s compliance standards are as challenging as ever. That’s as true for small businesses as large ones. As a company moves from a small to mid-sized, it’s scrutinized under a finer glass by DCAA, OFCCP, DoL and others. “Issues that weren’t as important when you were a $25 million company are critical when you’re $75 million and winning more significant contracts,” says Dan Gahr, senior vice president and chief financial officer of Whitney Bradley & Brown, Inc., a mid-sized company that focuses on weapon systems acquisition and requirements generation. Since coming on board in 1998, Gahr has helped WBB grow from 30 to 360 employees, with a compound annual growth rate of 30 percent. Here, Gahr offers three ways small companies can stay ahead on the compliance front as they continue their ascent as a midsized company.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Since joining WBB in 1998, Dan Gahr has steered the company toward a compound annual growth rate of 30 percent.
- Small business growth requires you diversify your advisor pool; tap an accounting firm with government contracting expertise; and stay attuned to industry challenges, says Gahr.
- Despite a challenging economy, WBB’s solid infrastructure has placed the company on a trajectory for continued organic growth into 2010, says Gahr.
1.) Diversify advisor pool. No one law firm can answer all your questions, says Gahr. “You may have something in your company that’s really unique and you need to find experts on that particular topic,” he says. “Some companies tend to put off those costs,” adds Gahr, “but we embrace them as the cost of doing business.” WBB taps employment law firms to navigate OFCCP regulations, corporate lawyers for corporate structure or bylaw issues, yet others for ESOP-related issues (WBB is an employee-owned company). Getting involved in professional organizations offer other good ways to keep abreast of industry issues and find corresponding experts in a given field, adds Gahr.
2.) Tap a nationally-recognized accounting firm. “It’s really important to align yourself with a good accounting firm early in your growth,” says Gahr. Typically, small companies see such an investment as an expense they can avoid, though. That’s a mistake, says Gahr. “The last thing you want is to be in the unenviable position of having to correct things once you’ve grown … the bigger you are, the harder it is to correct,” he says. As WBB has grown, it’s tapped a nationally recognized audit firm, with expertise in government contracting, to ensure its audits remain up to speed. “We didn’t skimp on that [investment] … we wanted to get all of that accounting piece right from the beginning,” says Gahr.
3.) Don’t be an ostrich. “Don’t stick your head in the sand,” says Gahr. “If you hear about something, find out about it … be proactive in being compliant in every area you can think of,” he says. Gahr’s certainly mindful of the industry challenges ahead, from insourcing to tightening federal budgets. Still, because of the proactive extra steps that Gahr has taken to stay compliant, WBB is well-positioned to continue its organic growth into 2010. “I still think that for us, and for companies of our size, given the size of the federal budget and the piece we’re actually taking, what’s going on won’t impact us in general,” he says, adding: “We think there are any number of good opportunities out there that we have yet to tap where we can take our products and services and continue to grow and diversify.”
