Dockyard's Next Chapter
Defining Who We Are
Yes, it’s a bit too early to celebrate getting through Covid fully; however, we are nearing the finish line. And, as more vaccination shots get put into arms, we need to shift our focus into how we will position our businesses to succeed in the wild open world that will come with relaxed travel restrictions, full capacity functions and the absence of daily public health reports.
We have been lucky to work with a good number of businesses since we opened in February. Some formally, but many people I run into are kind enough to ask me about what Dockyard does. It can be a bit challenging to narrow it down. Still, I tell them, “Essentially, we work with businesses and entrepreneurs to help them grow and thrive, both professionally and personally.” At that point, they usually ask a follow-up about marketing or accounting, sometimes strategic planning or websites. The short answer is yes; we do all of those things.
It may seem like we offer a lot of services, but we have to. Businesses in rural areas face steep competition from competitors in larger urban areas where resources and clients are more plentiful. So by utilizing our network and our team’s deep and diverse experience, we can help businesses take advantage of more opportunities than if we just focused on one thing.
Growing the Team
No man is a rock or an island, regardless of what Simon and Garfunkel say. The natural inclination to keep your team small or to do things all on your own is real. It can help you scale an idea quickly, it can help you keep costs lower, but there are simply limits to what one can do on their own. That’s why Mallory and I were so lucky that Ismael Lavallee could come work for us full-time, and Jessica Poirier agreed to support our efforts by coming on as a consultant and Francophone lead.
Ish is easily one of the most creative souls on the north shore and has an insatiable appetite for new mediums and communication strategies. And Jessica continues to amaze me at the wealth of knowledge and compassion that she has to offer businesses and entrepreneurs in the region.
Coaching, Consulting, Acceleration & Digital
So that brings us to the summer of 2021, the proverbial groundhog’s day for the world. We all collectively stick our heads out of our little corners of the world to see what the world’s become in our absence. FYI, it’s brutal out there. Inflation is hitting record highs due to the amount of money being printed to stimulate the economy and avoid a depression. Businesses have adopted entirely new work realities and processes. Governments have never before wielded such broad-reaching power, and the market giants have only gotten stronger. Oh, and people have decided to choose their facts, making convincing them about anything nearly impossible even when it is a vaccine that could save their lives.
To that end, we have decided to refocus and calibrate our objectives and key results for 2021 and 2022. We will become the leading Management Consulting company in Northern New Brunswick by the end of 2022 and all of New Brunswick by 2026. We will do this by setting our goals to help launch 20 new businesses in northern NB in the next year.
We will achieve this by focussing on our coaching services, working one-on-one with entrepreneurs to start or grow their business. Our consulting engagements will include strategic planning services, HR strategies, marketing and operations support and planning. We will also have a renewed focus on Digital Integration and Implementation Services, including our Digital Roadmap service, to help local businesses compete in a digital world, open new markets and raise performance.
Taking Our Seat At the Table
We are a young company. But we are hungry. If you’re a business that thrives off of the old way of doing things, the steady decline of the market around here doesn’t bother you; then you are unlikely to find much value working with us. However, if you are a business owner that dreams of more, of providing great careers for more people, for becoming a new pillar in the community that helps bring the entire region to new heights, then I highly suggest you drop into our office on the 5th floor of the Keystone Building. It’s our time now. Let’s seize it together.
